Blood and Bone
by DarkestHeartSince1939
Summary: BatFlash; Wally is left for dead in an alley, barely a memory to help put the puzzle together. Batman and the team try to discover the plot that lead to their friend fighting for his life. For the League, it's personal, but for Bruce it could get ugly. Established relationship, Wally West/Bruce Wayne. Warning: major butt kickin' and some kissy-kissy and strong language.
1. Chapter 1

Blood dripped from his fingertips. The Flash was huffing and puffing, trying to get air into his lungs, but it wasn't enough. He could feel his heartbeat and it was much slower than it should be, feeling more like Wally West than the Flash at the moment. Wally shuddered, letting out a ragged sigh as he tried to hold in the blood escaping from the wound in his gut.

Slowly, he made his way to a sitting position against the sold surface behind him. Flash felt around for something to help him stand and he felt the rough texture of brick underneath his blood-covered fingers. He tried to get to a standing position using the brick wall, but pain shot through him. His leg was clearly busted and his hips were radiating pain. Really, his whole body hurt. For a moment his vision dimmed, almost sending him back to the ground, but he managed to stand on one leg, just barely.

How had he gotten here, bloodied and beaten to a pulp in an alley?

The only memory he had was of Bats—Bruce! Where was he? He got an SOS call from him saying he needed backup in Gotham and Bruce never called for back up so he rushed over. Although he hadn't actually heard Bruce, it had been an SOS from Gotham. In fact, he didn't remember seeing the Dark Knight at all, but he didn't really remember anything.

Just pain.

He remembered running into the warehouse and then he remembered someone laughing, a lot of pain, and then nothing.

Looking around Wally could see he wasn't in that warehouse anymore, but he was in some alley somewhere. Gotham?

"Oh man. This hurts." He spat out, grinding his teeth against the pain shooting through his body.

He didn't even know how he'd gotten hurt, he just woke up on the ground, in excruciating pain, blood covering most of his body, though he wasn't sure how much of it was his. Looking at the blossoming red stains covering his torn suit, he guessed it was mostly his own.

Shaking his head, Flash shuffled and hopped his way along the wall, using the structure for support as he took in his surroundings.

"Ok Walls, you're fine. You're gonna be fine. Bats will find you. He always finds you." He let out a wheeze; blood filling his mouth as wracking coughs shook his lithe frame. Spitting the blood out of his mouth, he wiped his red-clad forearm across his face to wipe away the spittle. He was clinging to the wall, barely able to stand.

"I have to get out of here."

Making his way along the bricks, he made it to the end of the alley; looking both ways he noticed he was alone on a damp city street. He wasn't wet, but the ground was so he figured he must've been dumped here after someone or something beat the absolute shit out of him.

"Pr'bly thought I was dead," he said with a small laugh. It wasn't really funny, but he wasn't about to think about it.

He still hadn't moved from the end of the alley, leaning against the building, he used his bloody hand to feel for his League communicator, when he felt that earpiece he wanted to cry in relief. Why hadn't he called for back up?

He couldn't answer that. Placing his finger on the small device he called the League.

"Flash to Watchtower. Hello? Anybody home?" He didn't hear anything. "Flash to anybody! Code Red! Leaguer down, I repeat I need immediate transport to the Watchtower!" Still nothing. Maybe his communicator was dead? Fumbling, he managed to take out the earpiece. The blinking blue light was not there. His relief crumbled.

"Crap!" Still holding the little piece in his hand he looked around for some kind of power source, or phone, or a fire so he could send up a fucking smoke signal. If he could just contact the authorities he could make his way back. Somehow. Maybe he could get out of this alive; he didn't think he could actually run anywhere and survive the pain so this was the only option.

Looking to the end of the block, he saw a pay phone. He didn't know they even had those anymore! Gradually, so slowly, he made his way to the phone, calling 9-1-1.

"Hello, 9-1-1, what is your emergency?"

Gripping the booth for support, he managed to speak, "Hello, this is The Flash, yes, yes the real one. I'm somewhere in Gotham and I need an ambulance ASAP."

There was silence on the other end, "Uh…you're—I'm sorry sir, where are you?"

Another coughing fit wracked his body, filling his mouth with blood, his vision starting to fade. "I'm in need of an ambulance, locate the pay phone by—" he squinted around looking for a sign when he saw the building he'd been leaning against earlier. "—Jack's Liquor Emporium and an abandoned factory in some shady part of Gotham! I need Batman…help me…"

Dropping the phone, he lost consciousness, fading into oblivion.

I should probably warn you that I'm not a stickler to any particular canon. I had this story idea and I wrote it. The end.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any of DC's characters. Dr. Richards, however is of my own creation and I quite like him so...oh and I came up with the plot.

Flash came to, loud voices ringing in his ears. His eyes opened to a brightly lit room, and he was moving. Looking around he saw doctors and nurses working over him, but this wasn't a civilian hospital, he was on the Watchtower, how—

"Flash!" Flash turned his head towards the name, the voice he loved so much. Batman was hovering around the medical staff as they wheeled him down the hallway. "Flash! I need you to stay with me. Stay with me!"

"Bats? I—don't, I'm tired." Wally said, reaching for the black-cowled figure. Batman grabbed his hand, squeezing as though what he saw wasn't real.

"No, Wally, you stay with me, you understand? You need to stay with me." Batman looked towards the medical personnel, "Someone get Dr. Richards! NOW!"

"Bats—" Wally could feel himself fading from consciousness. "Bruce—I..."

"What is it Wally? What? Who did this to you?" Wally's grip slackened in his, "Wally?"

The heart monitor went crazy, the line moving frantically across the monitor. Batman was ripped from the scarlet speedster, thrust into the hallway away from the activity around the speedster's bed.

Dr. Richards ran into the room, surgical mask on and hands held up from his body, ready for emergency surgery. Batman watched from behind the observation window as the love of his life was fighting to live. He kept watching as he felt Superman put his hand on his shoulder, not even caring that he was so emotional. Worry evident on his face as the medical team prepped the paddles.

When Wally flat lined, it took the strongest man alive and Wonder Woman to hold him back from going into the room. Batman settled down when Flash's heartbeat came back up on the monitors. Shayera and Green Lantern had joined the trio outside of the speedster's room. He was their, he is their little brother and they were going to be damned if he died on them.

The Lord's universe had shown them that.

Wally's heart rate calmed to a steady rhythm. Their friend looked so fragile hooked up to the ventilator and multiple lines running to various medical machines keeping him alive. He was stable and Dr. Richards finished stitching the last wound before stepping back to allow the nurses room to finish with the IV bags and monitors.

"I need to know who did this to him, Clark." Batman whispered, his face a mask of anger and fury. Clark looked at his friend, he'd seen Batman angry, but not this angry.

"We'll find who did this to him. Right now making sure Wally makes it through the night is your priority. Diana and I will go and figure out where he was when this happened. He's in good hands. Keep us updated, Bruce." With a pat on Batman's shoulder, Superman and Wonder Woman flew down the hall to investigate how their friend had come to this point, worry written on their face.

The medical team started to back away finally, cleaning up any evidence of surgery and making the patient comfortable for recovery. Batman was there at the redhead's side as soon as the door opened. "What's his status doctor?"

Dr. Richards discarded his mask and bloodied gloves from where he had been stitching the speedster up. "He's stable for now, but he's not out of the woods yet, we've done what we can for now. His injuries are extensive, so he'll be off his feet for a while. But there's something you should know." Dr. Richards moved towards the bed, where Wally was hooked up to various machines, tubes running all over his body. He reached for the white sheet, uncovering the speedster's abdomen. A chill of dread ran down Bruce's spine.

"Flash has six broken ribs, a shattered pelvis, broken clavicle, multiple contusions to the abdominal area and chest. He had extensive internal bleeding, but we were able to stop that with the help of his hyperactive healing time. He has a fracture in his jaw and his zygomatic is bruised, but it looks much worse than it is and it's already healed most of the way. But that's the least of our concerns." He said, pointing to the redhead's black and blue face, bandages covering most of his head, though his face was visible. "Lacerations cover most of his body. His legs took a bit of a beating, his right leg was broken in five places and the shattered pelvis will slow him down for a few weeks. He'll need physical therapy to get to full speed again. He does have a concussion and there's a bit of brain swelling which is what makes me the most nervous, but it's already losing it's edge. He sustained substantial blood loss from a stab wound to his left shoulder, but a lot of the blood loss came from what I want to show you." Lifting the sheet, Dr. Richards slowly lifted the bandage covering Wally's abdominal area to reveal three words carved into Wally's chest and abdomen.

 _Ha Ha Batsy!_

Batman's blood boiled, "Joker." He growled out the word, deep and guttural rage burning through him.

The doctor replaced the bandages fashioning them this time as he put the blanket back in place. "That's your area. Not mine. His injuries are consistent with being beaten and then thrown out a window. The breaks in his leg are too clean to have been from a fall, if you understand my meaning." Bruce ground his teeth, eyes glued to Wally laying so quietly in the hospital bed.

The doctor continued, "He very well could have run through the window to escape, but I don't think that's the case here—sorry," he said catching himself, a hand brushing through his greying hair. "I've been watching too many CSI reruns in the lounge with Flash here," he said, a small smile forming as he patted Wally's hand. "I'll keep him under constant observation for now, but I have confidence he'll pull through swimmingly. He's a fighter," Dr. Richards paused for a moment sparing a glance at Batman, "—and he has someone waiting for him." Grabbing the chart from the end of the bed, Dr. Richards made a notation and turned to exit.

"Doctor."

Richards stopped in the doorway for a moment. Looking back at the black bat, "Yes, Batman?"

"Thank you." Gruffly, Batman grabbed the nearest chair in the room and sat next to Wally, grabbing his bandaged hand.

"My pleasure, Batman. He may be yours, but he's all of ours. Just get the bastard that did this to our boy and I'll make sure he's home to smile with your family again… sir." Batman nodded and looked at the speedster as he lay still in the bed. Dr. Richards smiled and closed the door behind him as he went to alert the nursing staff about the Flash's care.

"You're safe now, Wally." Squeezing Flash's hand, Batman pressed his communicator, intending to alert the others what he had learned. "Batman to Founders."

"Superman here, what is it Batman? Is Flash—"

"Flash is stable, but they're keeping him in the ICU until the swelling in his brain goes down. It isn't major, but it's enough to warrant precaution. Wally will be fine, but we have bigger fish to fry."

There was silence on the other end. After a moment Shayera cleared her throat, "Bigger fish to fry? You've been with Wally too long, Batman."

Batman rolled his eyes, he'd been using some of his partner's phrases recently and everyone had been giving him a hard time about it. "Really, now is not the time. We need to find the Joker. He did this."

"The Joker? How can you possibly know that Batman?" John asked.

"Because." Bruce paused, looking down at his redhead, Wally's chest rising and falling peacefully as the monitors beeped telling Bruce he was alive, still here with him.

"Because why, Bruce?" Wonder Woman asked, pushing for an answer.

"Because the Joker carved the words 'Ha Ha Batsy' into Wally's skin." He said through gritted teeth, rage once again coursing through his veins.

Wonder woman let out a gasp, "Hera…"

"My God." Superman gasped. The other leaguers all wondering what else their friend had been through at the hands of the crazed maniac.

Standing up Batman walked to the window, removing his cowl and blacking out the observation window with the button to his right. He turned to look at Wally, so pale against the white hospital sheets. "I'm going to stay with Wally for now, but I need to make a call. Batman out."

He walked over to Wally, squeezed his hand and gave him a kiss on his bandaged forehead. "Please Wally," he said, forehead resting against the speedster's bandaged one, "I need you. Please be okay. I will get him, I promise." One last squeeze to Wally's hand and a kiss to the temple and Bruce left the medical room, intent on calling the one person he could trust to stay with Wally while he went to look for the Joker.

...

And so the plot thickens. Mwa. haha. haha. Mwa.

Like I said, not particular to canon though I had the cartoon in mind while writing it. Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Warning: Some language. Some kissing.

Disclaimer: I don't own the DC Universe characters, just Dr. Richards.

...

...

"Dick."

"Bruce." Nightwing huffed at Bruce through the screen. Crossing his arms, he waited for Bruce to speak next.

Rolling his eyes, Bruce continued with the conversation, "I need you to come up to the Watchtower. Something's happened to Wally and I—"

"WHAT HAPPENED?" Nightwing didn't even let him speak, "Never mind! I'll be there ASAP. I'm not coming alone." Bruce's screen went dark.

Not really knowing exactly what had just happened, Bruce let out a ragged breath. The first one since he had gotten the call from Jim Gordon telling him Flash had just been carted off to Gotham General in pretty bad shape. Batman had gotten to the hospital just as Flash was wheeled into the emergency entrance and had instantly radioed J'onn to beam them to the Watchtower where Flash had been wheeled into the medical bay. He didn't understand how Flash had gotten to Gotham in the first place, but then again he'd been spending a lot more time in the Dark Knight's city, his bed to be exact.

He and Flash had started dating six months ago and it had been the happiest six months of his life. He tried pushing the younger man away, telling himself there was too much of an age gap and that he really wasn't that into men, but he couldn't ignore the feeling deep down in his gut that he was falling for the speedster. And fall he did.

Literally.

He had fallen off the edge of a building and his grapple hook had been snapped in half during a fight, so he had thought he was done for. But Flash saved him. And then before he knew it his lips were crushing Wally's, a hot open-mouthed kiss filled with all the pent up frustration and feelings he had been avoiding. And Wally eagerly kissed him back; pushing him up against the wall of the building Batman had just fallen from. It was hot and heavy and everything he had ever wanted. They were screwed after that. They managed to keep it a secret for a total of two months, but after a particularly hairy mission Batman couldn't help himself and he'd grabbed Wally in a kiss after Wally had nearly been blasted by Toy Man's laser. Which left the other five founding members who had been present, stunned. They were used to it now though, extremely supportive actually. It had surprised Bruce, but not Wally. He had always had faith his friends would support them. And, as usual, he was right. The rest of the League wasn't aware of their relationship though. They didn't hide it so Batman was sure that a few people had ideas and there were rumors circulating, but Bruce didn't care. Batman cared a little, but Bruce didn't have a care in the world because he loved Wally.

He loved him. He hadn't told him yet, but Wally knew. Wally had told him, but Bruce hadn't done it yet. Why hadn't he just put on his big boy pants and told Flash I love you?

Bruce was broken out of his thoughts by the sound of the teleport pads, signaling Nightwing's arrival. Looking up, the Dark Knight was surprised to see the other two with Dick.

"You brought Red Hood and Speedy?"

"It's Arsenal," quipped the other ginger, "And Wally's our brother, too. Of course we came! Now what the FUCK happened to Wally?"

The trio was right in front of the Dark Knight, he glared at them for a moment before turning and walking down the hall to Wally's room. They followed him. At the sight of their friend in the bed, the three younger heroes stood in shock at all the tubes and wires keeping their comrade breathing.

"Bruce," Dick said, putting a hand on Batman's arm, "You need to tell us what happened."

Bruce walked over to Wally's bed and sat down in the chair he had occupied before and told them what he knew. "Gordon called me this morning around 2 a.m. to tell me that there was a report of the Flash being taken into Gotham General. He was found in an alley by the docks in Midtown. He was in really, really bad shape, but we got him up here in time."

"Who did this to him?" Jason asked, sitting in a chair close to the door. He had taken off the Red Hood mask and was staring at Wally.

"Joker." He spat out the name, anger trickling into his growl. Jason startled, looking at Bruce with wide-eyes. Batman knew what he was thinking: images of crowbars and laughter echoing in his mind.

Dick sat on the other side of the hospital bed, letting out a curse as Roy let out an enraged yell, punching the wall. Bruce only gripped the man in the hospital bed's hand harder. He couldn't let the Joker take Wally from him, not when he'd just begun to live again.

Dick grabbed Wally's other hand from the opposite side of the bed, grabbing the metal chair behind him; he let out a ragged sigh. "Why do you get yourself into these situations Walls? You gotta pull through for us okay?" Turning to look at the dark-clad man opposite him, he couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness settle into his gut. "We'll watch him Bruce. You need some sleep, it's been a long night and you've got to get the son of a bitch that did this to our Wally. To your Wally."

Batman glanced up at him, ready to argue, but he knew he wasn't going to be able to function much longer on the little sleep he had gotten. Jason walked back into the room, the three people in the room not even realizing he'd left. Behind him two orderlies pushed another bed and maneuvered it next to the Dark Knight. Bruce raised a brow, silently asking Jason what was happening.

"Oh shut it, Bruce," He huffed, watching the orderlies shut the door behind them. "Climb in. I knew you wouldn't want to leave Walls so I had the orderlies bring up an extra bed. Dickie bird—"

"Don't call me that!" Dick shouted from his seat next to Wally.

"Shut up, Dick! Wally is sleeping!" He said, smacking Dick on his chest. Shaking his head at the pouting hero, Jason continued, "Dick, Roy, and I will go see what we can find for the next couple hours while you catch some much needed winks. We'll come get you in a couple hours, or if we find anything. In the meantime, chill out and sleep next to your boy here." Smiling a bit, Jason looked over at his friend lying in the hospital bed. "He'll be calmer if you're around."

Dick squeezed Wally's hand one last time and followed Jason out of the room, Roy ran his hand through the other redhead's hair and followed after the other two. Jason paused in the doorway for a moment, glancing at the man he had hated not long ago, the man he had considered his second father and couldn't help but wonder if Bruce would make it out of this alive if Wally didn't.

"Thank you, Jason."

Shock registered on Jason's face, only to be replaced by a grim line. "We'll get him Bruce and Wally will be up telling bad jokes in no time." With that he left his mentor, hovering over his friend, an ugly determination shooting through him. The Joker would pay.

For all of it.

...

...


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: DC Universe characters, not mine.

...

Bruce watched as Jason left the room and made sure to close the door as they left. He wouldn't lock it in case Wally needed immediate medical attention. Flipping the light switch, he looked over at Wally lying so still in the hospital bed. The soft glow of the hospital lights over the bed gave Wally an ethereal glow, but he looked pale. Bruce clipped the fastener holding his cape to his suit, and took off his cowl, replacing it with a lighter and smaller domino mask to keep his face hidden should someone come into the room while he was sleeping.

In only his spandex and domino mask, Bruce climbed into the hospital bed next to Wally, and stared at the speedster, the soft sounds of his lover's breathing lulling him to sleep.

...

That one was short. Sorry.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: DC Characters=not mine; Dr. Richards=all mine.

Choking.

He could hear a choking sound. Bruce shot up from his bed looking over to find Wally making choking sounds. Slamming the call button over the redhead's bed, he shouted, "Nurse!"

Grabbing his cowl from the chair he quickly slid it on as medical personnel rushed into the room, checking to see what was causing the patient's discomfort. Dr. Richards followed not far after, clothing disheveled, quickly assessing the situation.

"Alright I need his intubation tube out, it seems our hero has decided to join the land of the living." Grabbing a small flashlight from his pocket, Dr. Richards leaned over Wally whose eyes had started to flutter open, "Flash! Flash! Can you hear me? You're safe now. You're at the Watchtower. My name is Dr. Richards and Batman is here with me." Motioning for Batman to come stand by him, Bruce rushed to stand by the doctor until he was in Wally's eye line.

"See Flash, you're safe, I'm just gonna shine this in your eyes to check your reactions and we'll get this nasty tube out of your throat, okay?"

Wally was wide-awake, now, blinking as Dr. Richard flashed the light in his eyes. Confident in the speedster's reactions, Dr. Richards nodded at the nurse standing on the opposite side of the bed and they took out the breathing tube. Letting out a massive gasp, Wally started coughing as air rushed into his lungs.

"Bru—Batman…" His hand reached for the other man's. Bruce grabbed his floundering hand in his black-clad one gripping it with all the pent up emotion from earlier. He was awake. He never thought he'd hear him say his name again and the knot in his stomach relaxed a bit.

"Flash," he said, immediately calming the speedster who just stared at Batman the whole time.

Dr. Richards grinned, clearing his throat he grabbed the chart at the end of the bed and jotted a few notes into the file. "Alright, well. Flash just a few questions and we can leave you alone here to rest."

Dr. Richards dismissed the nursing staff before he shot off a few general questions, and Flash answered them, his eyes never leaving Bruce's. "Ok," Dr. Richards said, making his way to the door. "I'll be down the hall. A nurse will be in in an hour or so to change out your IV bag. You're looking better. Considering the state you were in when we got you here, it's good to see you improving. You had us worried for a second there, Flash."

Flash looked over at the doctor then, "Thanks, doc." He said, flashing his award-winning smile as the doctor smiled back and left the speedy hero alone with the Dark Knight.

Bruce tore off his cowl, worry lining his face, "You're not in pain are you? Because I can get them to up your dosage. I know you burn through it pretty fast. Are you warm enough? Are you comfortable? Your bed is up pretty high, but if you press the button here you can low—"

"Bruce?"

"Yeah Wally?"

"Shut up." And with that, Wally reached a bandaged hand up to the other hero's collar and yanked him down for a kiss.

For a moment Bruce didn't understand what had happened but when he felt the other man's lips on his all of his grief and worry and love came pouring out, and his need became frantic. Careful not to hurt him, Bruce held Wally close to him, his mouth hard and unrelenting on the other man's lips. Wally sighed, his hand moving from Bruce's collar to the back of his neck opening his lips to let Bruce's tongue assault his own, each of them fighting for dominance. Bruce moaned, trying hard to get even closer to Wally. As if he could absorb the other man into him, but he knew he couldn't so he let it all flow from him into the kiss. Wally nipped at Bruce's lip, letting out a small sound when Bruce growled in response.

"Wally, we have to take it easy," He said between kisses, their breath coming in and out in rapid gasps. Wally let his head fall back on the pillow, is cheeks flushed and his eyes bright with morphine and desire. Bruce bit back on the urge to take the man and ravish him on the hospital bed, but he was sure that wouldn't be in the cards for a little while.

Wally grinned, chuckling as he let his hand drop from Bruce's neck. "Alright Bruce. You win, but don't think I'm not going to jump your bones the second I get the all clear."

"I'll be sure to catch you," Bruce said, a grin of his own lighting his face. Placing a brief kiss on Wally's lips, he moved to the other side of the bed, sitting in the chair he had occupied earlier. "How are you feeling? Really?"

Wally stared at Bruce, his grin sliding from his face as he looked down at himself in the hospital bed, covered in bandages. "Honestly, Bruce it hurts. A lot. I'm confused, and I don't know what happened, but I'm here and I'm safe and that's what matters right now."

Bruce frowned, his brows furrowing in worry. He paused before continuing, not sure if he should push the issue, but Flash always liked to get things over and done with so he pushed forward. "Wally." He said quietly, the speedster looking at him again, "I need to know what happened to you. Who did this to you?"

Wally looked away from Bruce's blue gaze, fear briefly entering his eyes as he reached for Bruce's hand. Bruce held on, silently telling the other man that it was okay.

"I was ambushed. I got an SOS on the communicator from Gotham, I don't think I ever heard you say anything, but I just automatically assumed you were reaching out." Bruce's eye went wide in shock. He hadn't sent out a signal, anger quickly replaced his shock knowing that somehow, someone had used him against Flash, putting him in danger.

"Wally, I didn't send out a signal."

Wally grinned, squeezing Batman's hand. "I figured that out, Bruce. I ran into this warehouse somewhere by the docks in Gotham. I heard laughing and then something hit me in the back of the head and I—"

Wally paused for a moment, taking a deep breath before he continued.

"I blacked out. But I remember coming around because I felt pain. A lot of pain. There was a knife in my shoulder."

Bruce brushed his free hand over Wally's bandaged shoulder, "Dr. Richards said you have a stab wound in your shoulder. Do you remember anything else? Do you know why they took you?"

Wally glanced away from Bruce's gaze for a moment, a flash of pain that left before Bruce could be sure of what he saw. Wally looked back at Bruce, eyes softening as he reached out to trace the older man's cheek.

"I didn't think I was going to ever see this face again," Wally lowered his hand, taking a moment to stare at his lover's face. Memorizing every feature. "I remember that. I remember thinking that I was going to leave you behind and I promised you I wouldn't ever do that." Tears started to fall down Wally's cheeks, leaving trails on his bruised face.

Bruce wiped the tears from Wally's face, careful to not hurt him. "I love you, Wally."

Grabbing Bruce's collar again, Wally crushed his lips to Bruce's trying to convey everything he felt into the kiss. The worry, the fear, and the loss he felt when he thought he was going to leave Bruce.

Bruce darted his tongue along Wally's lower lip, suckling it in to a small playful nip tearing a moan from the redhead's chest.

Wally's fist clawed through Bruce's raven hair, trying with all he had to bring the dark-clad hero even closer to him. Bruce obliged and slid his tongue into the other mans mouth their tongues dancing. Bruce growled low in his throat when he heard Wally whimper.

Tearing himself away from Wally's mouth, Bruce gasped for air, hearing Wally do the same his heart monitor beeping faster with his excitement.

"Wally—"

Wally grabbed Bruce's hair, bringing him closer their lips a breath apart. "Bruce don't. I need you. I need you to know that I'm here and this helps. I'm not asking for sex. Yet. I just need to know that you're real. That this isn't some tortuous dream. I love you. I need you. Bruce—"

Wally said Bruce's name, more like a groan as Bruce dipped is head in for another slow, languid kiss. Letting Wally know he was real with every stroke of his tongue and every little noise he made in response to his lover's kiss. After a while they came up for air, resting their foreheads against each other, Wally's hands still entwined with Bruce's hair, Bruce's resting on Wally's battered cheek.

"When they rolled you into the hospital on that gurney, I thought for sure you were dead. You were so pale and covered in so much blood. For a moment I died and then you opened your beautiful green eyes and I knew I had to save you."

Wally gasped, pain shooting through his body like a lance. Quickly Bruce laid the speedster back on the hospital bed. Adjusting the hospital sheets so he would be warm.

Wally smiled, pain etched on his face. "Thanks. Can you—? Morphine. I need morphine."

Bruce adjusted the morphine drip on the IV stand and hit the call button. Adjusting his cowl and cape, Bruce moved the chair back from the need and went to go see where the other three young heroes went off to when a loud noise broke concentration.

Speak of the devils and they shall appear.

"WALLY WEST WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Roy yelled as he ran through the doors to the other ginger's side.

"Nice t' see you too Roy." Wally said, words slurred a bit because of the morphine.

Roy laughed, "The Bat has you all drugged up, huh? Well serves you right for scaring the shit out of us like that."

"Yeah speed brain. What the hell? I leave you alone for a day and you go and get yourself all torn up." Jason walked up to stand by Roy, looking down at Wally in the bed. "I thought Dickie Bird was going to have a conniption fit."

"Was not! And don't call me that, jackass!" the aforementioned hero said, now standing on the opposite side of the hospital bed. "Besides I'm not the one who cried about it."

Jason paled. "I admit nothing."

Wally let out a loud laugh at Jason's expression, smiling up at the three heroes surrounding his hospital bed. "Guys I'm fine, now cool it would ya? You're crowding my bed and it's making Bruce jealous."

Bruce let out an unintelligible snort, "Right." He said, putting himself between Dick and Wally, "They couldn't keep up if they tried." Leaning down next to Wally, he whispered into his ear making, what wasn't bruised on Wally's face and chest turn beet red. Jason and Dick made gagging sounds as they watched their father figure flirt with their best friend. They had gotten used to the pair, but the displays of affection were still new and they didn't think they'd ever actually get used to them.

Roy just smiled and sat in the chair Bruce had pulled away earlier. "Get a room lovebirds."

Bruce stood, a playful grin lighting his face at seeing his lover so flustered. "We had one until you idiots showed up. You were supposed to come get me." He glared at Dick, his protégé shrinking back from the Bat Glare.

Holding his hands up, Dick walked over to the other chair, settling down into a confortable position, "Hey. We didn't find anything until now and we were coming to get you now, thought I'm sure you're glad it wasn't any earlier than that. You're cowl's crooked."

Bruce just narrowed his eyes into slits as he adjusted the cowl. "Fine. What did you find?"

"We found the Joker."

...

That one was a little longer. Thanks for reading! Do you like it or should I just stop while I'm ahead?


	6. Chapter 6

It's slowly but surely coming together! Yay plot!

Disclaimer: Like I said before DC Universe, not mine. Doc Richards, mine.

Enjoy!

...

...

"Where!" Bruce surged out of the bed, careful not to jostle it's occupant. He crossed over to where Dick stood, barely a foot from the younger hero.

"Calm down, Bruce," Dick held up his hands, trying to keep the Dark Knight from getting too riled up. "He's holed up in a warehouse by the docks—"

From the hospital bed, Wally sat up, ears twitching at warehouse. "A shipping warehouse?"

The four heroes looked at their friend, brows rising. "Yeah," Dick said, slowly making his way to his friend's side. "What's up, Walls?"

Wally grimaced, adjusting the bed so he could sit up comfortably. "They ambushed me in a warehouse. I was by the docks and there were shipping containers everywhere. I remember because one of them said 'Wayne Industries' on the side and I thought that was weird."

Batman moved to the opposite side of the bed, eyes widening beneath the cowl when he heard his name, "Wayne Industries? We don't use any warehouses in that area. It's notorious for it's black market shipments and we don't want to deal with the hassle. The frequent police raid prevent shipments form leaving on time." Nightwing walked over to where Roy and Jason stood at the end of the bed, exchanging glances.

"Uh, Bruce. That's the problem." Dick said quietly, bracing himself as he continued. "He's in a warehouse that we've seen before. Wayne Tech used it as a storage facility for one of their botched projects before the tech was supposed to be taken and disposed of."

"But by the looks of things, the shipment never made it out," Jason said, crossing his arms. "The tech project set to be destroyed was the adaptive machinery for the Dark Heart nanotech."

Bruce frowned, "But that never worked. And after the Luthor-Brainiac debacle, there wasn't any tech left to adapt. The technology is too advanced. The adaptive technology was meant for medical equipment, trying to adjust the make-up so we could create artificial limbs and organs from the stuff. But it failed in our first prototypes. It would have been too expensive to make the necessary adjustments so we just scratched the project. The military contract null and void."

Wally brushed a hand through the small amount of hair showing at the top of his bandaged head, a clear sign he was agitated. "If it didn't work, why would it still be there? It can't be a coincidence that they brought me to that warehouse…"

"No." Roy sighed, "I don't think it was. But I'm not sure it was because of Batty and your relationship."

Bruce checked the clock, "IT'S BEEN FOUR HOURS?" He shouted, fuming as he advanced on the three nervous heroes at the end of the bed.

Jason just rolled his eyes "Oh shut up Bruce. You needed the sleep and we didn't have any leads until now anyway."

Wally laughed, Bruce turned a low growl coming from his throat. "Wally."

"Oh quiet down Bruce. I felt better with you here." Bruce's expression softened at Wally's admission.

"Okay, I'm going to go tell the rest of the team. They need to know what we've found so we can proceed." Bruce squeezed Wally's hand once, before making his way towards the door. The other three moving to follow behind him,

"Take me with you." All four heroes whirled around to look at Wally in the hospital bed, surprise on all of their faces.

Dick sputtered, "Are you kidding Wall? You almost died. No way in hell are we taking you anywhere."

Wally narrowed his gaze, "I'm not just gonna sit around like some invalid. I need to help you. And you need my help."

Roy grit his teeth, "No. Wally, we need you to get better."

"I can't just…jus..what's hap'ning?" Wally looked over to his right, finding Jason suddenly by the bed. "How'd you…?"

Jason just smirked, setting the morphine button back in its holder next to the bed, "I'm a bat, remember?" Wally just glared at him, his eyes quickly drooping shut.

Bruce grinned at his younger son, pride in his eyes as he silently thanked him. He knew he probably would have caved had Wally continued. "He's not going to stay out for long, his metabolism will kick in."

Jason shrugged, "I know. But we'll be outta here by then and you can deal with it. I just didn't really wanna watch mommy and daddy fight." Bruce glowered at Jason as he left the room, Dick and Roy sniggering as they trailed behind him to the conference room.

Dick giggled and pointed at Bruce on his way out the door, "He called you mommy."

"Shut up." Bruce glared at the three younger heroes, but his heart wasn't in it. He was happy that they had accepted Wally and his' relationship enough to joke about it.

Walking down the hall, Bruce alerted the other members of the team that they had new information concerning the whereabouts of the Joker.

"We're headed your way Batman." Superman said, "How's Wally?"

"He's in a lot of pain, but really he just wants to know what happened. He has little memory of his time in the warehouse. I'll let you know more as soon as we get into the conference room." Bruce looked around, seeing other heroes milling through the halls, the occasional glance shot his way. "I don't want this to be public knowledge."

"Understood. Superman out."

Bruce followed the heroes in front of him; silently hoping they could get Wally the answers he wanted. But he knew he'd find a way to get justice.

He had to.

...

Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

I changed the rating for the story, my language is stronger than I thought. And there's about to be some violence. Woot.

Disclaimer: I don't own the DC Universe.

...

Everyone was seated at the conference table. Dick lounged in Wally's seat with Roy and Jason flanking either side, arms crossed looking ready to take whoever had hurt their friend down.

"So," GL said, hand to his forehead as he spoke, "let me get this straight. You took a nap?"

Dick and Jason snickered from the other side of the room, the glare Batman sent their way silencing them this time. "That is not important. Nightwing, Arsenal, and Red Hood have managed to locate where the Joker is hiding."

Everyone straightened, their eyes immediately going to the three young heroes, now antsy with the attention being directed at them. Nightwing stood, pacing the floor as he told the League what he had relayed to Batman.

Superman leaned back in his chair, shoulders tense. "How did the technology in the warehouse go unnoticed for so long? You have crews that usually sweep that sort of thing."

Batman glared at the table top, fists clenching in anger. "I don't know, but I intend to find out."

"My guess?" Nightwing leaned on the table to look at Superman. "A bribe. Someone paid the crew we sent for that inspection to either bury it or falsify the documents. Money talks in Gotham." Jason shrugged, silently agreeing with his brother. He sent a knowing look at the puzzled Shayera across from him.

Her feathers ruffled a bit, "But why would they bring him there? I mean, it can't be a coincidence that Flash was brought to your warehouse, right?"

This time Jason cleared his throat, "Flash and Batman's relationship isn't public knowledge. Bruce Wayne and Wally West, however, have been under public scrutiny for a few weeks now, so it could be that someone knows Wally West is the Flash and they're trying to get to Bruce Wayne. Not Batman."

Silence hung in the air, no one wanting to think about anyone's secret identity being compromised.

"Well if that's true," Superman added, getting up from his chair to stand by the window, "then we may have a leak."

Batman narrowed his eyes further, mentally running through a list of possible suspects.

Shayera let out a frustrated groan, "Ugh. I hate moles. But if you think about it, Wally isn't exactly the best at keeping his secret identity very secret." The other heroes around the table grumbled their agreement.

"I know." Batman sighed. It had been a topic of conversation when they'd started dating. Wally hadn't understood why Bruce was so tight lipped, but he'd relented and had been better about it after Bruce had presented him with solid examples.

"Well, if there is a leak, we need to stop it before anyone else gets hurt. And we need to find the son-of-a-bitch that would do this to Wally." GL leaned forward in his chair, his thoughts going to the sight of his friend being rolled into the infirmary. "Everyone loves the Flash on the Watchtower, it doesn't make sense…"

"You're right," Batman said, standing from his seat. He looked around the table, at his team, "But if what Jason is saying is true, Bruce Wayne isn't nearly as loveable and it could very well have been a means to an end. Motives are rarely ever cognoscente of their collateral damage."

Superman turned from the window, a frown marring his usually amiable expression. Everyone seemed to think about their friend who was currently in the infirmary, each of them wanting justice for what they had seen. Visions of blood and flat lines haunting their thoughts.

"Batman!" Dr. Richards voice sounded over the comm in the conference room, the comm reserved for emergencies.

"Dr. Richards? What is it? Is Wally—"

"I'm afraid he's gone into shock. He's seizing." Everyone rushed for the door all at once, scrambling down the hall to the medical bay. Wally's room was filled with medical personnel, each of them shouting orders trying to get the man in the bed to stop flailing.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" Batman yelled, grabbing the closest scrub, a young man who quickly clammed up at the sight of the angry bat.

"Batman! Put my intern down!" Dr. Richards yelled from Wally's bedside. "Flash started seizing a few moments ago and his heartbeat is erratic. Nurse! Bring me that IV!" A blonde woman rushed next to the doctor and helped him switch out IV bags, emptying a syringe into one of the many new tubes running into the speedster.

Bruce started walking towards Wally, but Dick and Jason both grabbed him from behind, GL keeping Shayera from doing the same thing. "What's happening to him?" She yelled, her voice cracking with emotions they were all feeling.

Suddenly, the monitor stopped it's irregular beat and sounded in a continuous tone.

Wally was flat lining.

Again.

"FLASH!" Bruce screamed, breaking from his sons' hold and scrambling to grab Wally's hand opposite from Dr. Richards who was methodically trying to get the speedster stable. "Wally! You listen to me—"

A nurse bravely shoved him back, putting the paddles on Wally's exposed chest, "CLEAR!" Jason and Dick managed to grab Bruce and pull him a little away from the episode happening in front of them.

"Wally, you better not die one me. You understand! DO NOT DIE!" Bruce growled, his body tense as the nurses and Dr. Richards used the paddles again, trying to get Wally's heartbeat going.

Frantically, Dr. Richards looked around the room, finding and locking eyes with Shayera. "Hawkgirl! Come over here now!" She ran over to where he was standing. "Grab your mace and put it on Flash's chest, send a small charge through it so we can get his heart pumping again. The paddles don't have enough umph." She looked hesitant, but he just grabbed it from her belt and put it in place, everyone tense with anticipation as she grabbed the handle and sent a small charge through the weapon. Wally's body arched off the bed, electricity bouncing in an 'X' around his chest before an irregular heartbeat sounded on the monitors. Everyone let out a breath, not yet relief, but something.

Bruce ran and grabbed Wally's hand as his heartbeat settled into a regular rhythm, slow for the speedster, but still a sign of life.

Dr. Richards softly maneuvered Shayera away from the bed to take his place so he could adjust the IV levels, satisfied for now with the results. "Alright, Flash is stabilized for now but he's in critical condition. I'm going to run tests on his blood work and see if we can't find out what caused him to seize."

Wally was still in the bed, his chest barely rising and falling in a regular rhythm. Everyone just stared at their friend, brother, lover, lying so frail on the white sheets.

Dr. Richards moved to the end of the bed so he could make the needed adjustments. He glanced around the room, taking in everyone's anxiety. "Listen," slowly everyone's attention turned to the doctor who had saved their friend for a second time. "He's stable for now, but I think he may have some sort of toxin running through his system. Something latent that didn't kick in until now. I know I don't save the world, but I want to save Wally and I need your help with that. Find what's killing him, and I'll make sure he's alive to see you at the end of this." Everyone nodded, slowly shuffling out of the hospital room as they glanced back at Wally, each vowing to save him.

Batman and Dr. Richards stood next to Wally's bed, the others having left to go do various tasks to get to the Joker. The doctor looked over at Batman, "He's okay for now, but if I'm right, chances are I'm going to need something to help him, and soon." He paused, clasping Batman's shoulder before leaving him alone with the ailing hero.

Bruce clenched his jaw, his chest tight. He needed to save Wally. He needed Wally. "I'm going to save you Wally West, you can count on that. Wait for me. " Kissing his temple, Bruce brushed the red hair out of Wally's face, "I love you."

Bruce straightened from Wally's bedside, and walked out into the hall. Dick, Jason, and Roy each stood from leaning against the wall. They each had frowns, Roy staring at the ground while Jason and Dick shared a look.

"What's our next move?" Dick walked up to Batman, his determination clear.

"We go to the warehouse and have a chat with a clown." Walking down the hall, Batman made for the hangar, waking up to the Javelin where he found the rest of the team, huddled by the ramp.

Superman tensed, walking up to Batman. "Bruce, maybe you ought to sit this one out." Bruce simply glared at the boy in blue, making the world's strongest man feel very small.

"Alright, fine." Superman sighed, throwing his hands up in surrender. "We'll go down to the warehouse then. Together." Bruce nodded, climbing up the ramp to the pilot's chair.

"I call shot gun!" Dick shouted from the back, running to the co-pilot chair while Roy pouted. Roy sat in front of Jason, the other bat sitting in the back with a grin.

The others quickly took their seats, faces grim.

"Hey. It's like the gang's all back together again!" Jason said, propping his feet up on the back of Roy's seat, causing the archer to frown and swat at the offending boots.

Bruce looked around, noting the group, "Yeah. All except one."

Jason frowned, "Yeah, right. Sorry." He said, quieter this time, putting his feet on the ground. A sad silence descended in the cabin, no one speaking again the entire way to Earth.

...

Sad day. Poor Flash, I'm so mean to him... oh well! It's about to go down ya'll.

Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own DC Universe. Obvi.

I've taken a few liberties in the following chapters. Just and FYI.

...

"God!" Roy shouted, exiting the aircraft with a frowning Jason. "You're a bat! Flying shouldn't make you sick!"

Jason groaned, rolling his eyes, "Just because I grew up in a cave surrounded by bats doesn't mean that I like to fly. Okay? I like the ground thank you very much."

It was Roy's turn to roll his eyes, "Whatever. Now I'm gonna smell like vomit the whole time."

"Deal with it." Jason spat back at him. Roy growled, looking like he was going to launch his fist into Jason's face when Dick ran between them.

"Guys! Focus."

"Fine." They said in unison. The other members of the team simply watched the scene unfold, realizing how good they have it with Wally's jokes.

"Clark, Diana, and J'onn, I need you in the air as tactical support for those of us going in on the ground. Lantern, Shayera, I need you to find another access point. If things get too intense, I want to be able to grab the Joker and leave. Got it?" They all nodded, "The warehouse is over by the docks, I've told J'onn and he should be able to take you there. Wait for us before entering."

"Where are you going Batman?" Shayera asked, hovering a few feet away.

Batman glanced at the three younger heroes. "Nightwing, Arsenal, and Red Hood are going with me. We'll come in from above." The three heroes nodded, ready to go. "Everyone know their jobs?" They all nodded, determination in their faces. "Alright. On my signal, copy?"

"Agreed." J'onn stated, floating into the air with his group and flying off into the sky. Green Lantern and Shayera both nodded, the latter patting Nightwing's shoulder before following after the glowing green hero.

Batman pulled out his grappling hook, flying up towards the nearest rooftop as the three young heroes followed behind him. Each of them huffing and puffing to keep up with the veteran. They reached their destination a few moments later, having parked the Javelin not far from the warehouse.

"Nightwing, status." They were looking over the side of the building across from the roof of the warehouse.

Nightwing looked around, "No outside movement, and I don't see any initial activity inside, but we don't have the best vantage point." Batman nodded, looking for the other five flying members of the team.

Nightwing glanced at the brooding Bat, "Batman. It seems to easy." Arsenal and Red Hood nodded, both sharing a look. Batman frowned, "I know."

"Then why don't we just…just—" Nightwing stuttered, searching for his words.

"Just what?" Bruce spat out, a bit of his frustration leaking into his voice. "We don't have another choice right now, this is the only lead we have."

Nightwing let out an exasperated breath, looking again at the seemingly abandoned warehouse. "I know, Batman. It just…it just feels off." He paused, sharing a glance with Red Hood, "But, if you think this is our option, we'll follow you."

Bruce nodded, his eyes conveying his thoughts without having to say them. "Superman? Status."

There was a pause. Batman started to shift his weight, ready to move at a moment's notice.

"Superman here." Bruce let out a small breath, "We're in place, Batman. Ready to move on your count."

Another beep sounded on the line, "Green Lantern here. We've found a back entrance, we're ready when you are Batman." Bruce glanced over at the three beside him, each of them staring at him, waiting for his signal.

"On my command." He shot one last look at his protégés before, "Go."

They converged on the warehouse, Batman hearing two loud crashes coming from inside. He shot out his grappling hook once more, swinging into the warehouse through a window, tucking a rolling into a crouch on the cement floor. Next to him, Red Hood and Nightwing did the same. Arsenal was less graceful, stumbling into a squat.

"Show offs." He muttered, pulling out his bow to notch an arrow. They stilled, ready for whatever was thrown at them.

"Ha!" The laugh echoed and Batman whirled towards the sound. Up on a shipping container stood the object of his rage.

"Joker." He ran, jumping over boxes as he heard the high-pitched cackle grow. To his left he could hear shouts, but continued on his path.

The Joker laughed, grabbing his stomach as he cackled. Looking over his shoulder he shouted, "Oh Harley! Looks like we have some guests!"

Harley Quinn appeared next to the laughing loon, "Oh puddin' you always have the best of company!" She grinned, swinging the hammer at her side like a pendulum readying herself for the approaching bat.

"Oh babies! Come greet our guests!" She yelled over her shoulder, growls and menacing barks coming from her left, Batman stared wide-eyed as at least a dozen hyenas converged on him.

Nightwing was next to him in an instant, "When did they get so many hyenas?" He yelled, flinging a batarang at one of the approaching beasts.

Harley giggled, "Turns out Lou is Louise! Our babies had some babies bat boy."

Nightwing growled, he and Bruce diving out of the way of gnashing teeth and 150 pounds of pure animal muscle. Batman threw an exploding batarang at the couple on the container, each of them jumping out of the way before it exploded.

"Ah ah ah! Batsy! You've gotten feisty!" The Joker threw a punch at Batman, having jumped down in front of the angry hero. Nightwing screamed, breaking Batman's concentration long enough for Joker to get in a good kick to his gut sending the breath from his lungs.

Dick and Roy fought the hyena, Nightwing squeezing his side where the animal had managed to swipe him.

"Arsenal, hit him with a stun arrow when I say!" He ran up the side of the shipping container to his left the hyena following after him just like he'd wanted. "Now!" He shouted, Roy releasing the arrow, it hitting its target sending the unconscious lump to the ground, they high-fived before running off in search of Jason.

"Hood! Where are you?" Three gunshots sounded to their left, a boom sounding off in another direction. Dick and Roy ran towards the gunshots, finding Jason surrounded by three hyenas. All of them lumps on the ground. They stopped, wide eyed as Jason turned towards them, guns in hand.

"What?" He said, stepping over the furry pile and running past them towards the growls and booms. They just looked at each other, shrugging as they ran after him.

"Did you kill them?" Dick asked as they ran, already knowing the answer.

"No!" Jason shot him a glance, "I used my stun gun. I'm not the best good guy, but I'm no puppy killer." Roy rolled his eyes.

"Those aren't puppies! They're killers!" Dick and Jason just ignored him, darting around the shipping containers to find the other five members fighting another horde of hyenas.

"Where the hell did they all come from?" A hyena leapt up the side of the container they were on, Jason simply shooting it in the chest, sending an electrical charge into the crazed animal. It fell in an unconscious heap at the bottom of the container. The noise attracted five more, each of them ready to take their heads off.

Nightwing leapt down into the fray, noticing Superman being piled on by at least three. "Supes! Over here!" Superman looked up, then understanding what Nightwing was shouting, sent the hyena in his hands flying over the fighting Arsenal, right into the charging hyena in front of Nightwing.

"Thanks!" He grinned, Superman grinned back nodding as he sent the other two hyenas on his back to the ground.

Shayera let out a battle cry as she knocked a hyena out of the air with her electrified mace. It fell onto the growing heap, the number of animals running around had lessened, each of them being put in a pile under a green dome by Green Lantern, a few voluntarily with the assistance of J'onn.

Nightwing glanced around, trying to locate Batman in the chaos. "GL!" The hero looked over at him, "Do you see Batman? He was alone with Harley and Joker!" Green Lantern's glowing, green eyes widened, quickly darting around the room to locate the bat. He found him, engaged in a hand-to-hand combat with Harley and Joker, taking about as many hits as he was giving.

"He's over where you guys came in! I don't see any hyenas, it's just Harley and Joker and he needs back up!" Dick grit his teeth.

"Damn it, Batman!" He back flipped out of the way of an incoming hyena, Jason nodding at him to go.

Dick ran towards the stubborn bat, he only hoped he'd find him in one piece by the time he got there.

"Hang in there, Bruce." He muttered to himself, running away from the chaos of the hyenas into a cloud of bloody laughter.

...

There are only two hyenas in the comic books and they're both boys. Bud and Lou.

Not my favorite chapter to write, but it'll do.

Thanks for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

If you are reading this, thank you for reading my story :) I write these stories for fun and for myself and if some others can some sort of enjoyment from them then yippee!

Disclaimer I do not own yadayadayada.

My medical terminology has come from years of waching Grey's Anatomy and having been a surgical patient. That's 'bout it. Kay. Enjoy *waves*

...

Wally felt strange, like he'd been hit with a baseball bat.

And then a truck.

He could hear the slow beep next to him, seeing the heart monitor to his right. His nose itched, a nasal cannula feeding him a stream of cold oxygen. He could hear other people milling around but all he could see was white.

I must be in the emergency medical bay, he thought. Turning his head to the side, he tried looking around to see where he was exactly, but again, all he saw was the white from a large curtain hanging from the ceiling.

Achingly, he turned his head to the right, lifting his arm from the bed to grab the call button. It wasn't far, but it still felt like he was moving through water. He felt exhausted after the small movement and plopped his arm back on the bed and waited, not having long to do so as a flurry of feet sounded on the other side of his curtain. The white sheet flew back as medical personnel rushed into his area, looking for the emergency.

Dr. Richards wasn't far behind, he was expecting to see Flash in another seizure, and instead surprise lit his face when he saw the speedster's green eyes open and staring at him. There was a domino mask in place, but they had the eyeholes cut so they could do routine check ups on his progress.

"Flash! You're awake!" He looked at the nearest intern, "Grab an IV bag of fluids and start him on the calorie mix, we'll want him alert as soon as possible."

"Yes doctor." The intern rushed away, going to fetch what the doctor had asked for.

Dr. Richards sidled up to the speedster's bed, noticing that he was sluggish, but aware. "Flash, it's Dr. Richards, do you know where you are?" Flash nodded, eyes opening and closing as he tried to blink away the fog in his head. "Alright, we're going to get you started on some fluids, bring up your blood sugar. You're a bit sluggish because we had to give you an anti-toxin. You had a seizure. Do you remember?"

Flash nodded.

"Okay," Dr. Richards continued with his check up. He shined the small flashlight in Wally's eyes. The intern returned with the IV bag and hooked the hero to the fluids. Almost immediately, Wally perked up, less blinking.

"Is that helping?" Wally nodded, a small smile on his lips. "Good. It should kick in here in a few moments, you're metabolism will break it down quickly because you're a little low on calories, but we'll get you up to speed." Dr. Richards patted the speedster's less injured shoulder, smiling as he adjusted the morphine and IV levels, taking note of the readings on the monitor.

Wally took a deep breath, his movements easier as the morphine and fluids kicked in, his awareness going into overdrive. Images flashed through his mind, twinges of pain through his body. Dr. Richards noticed the hitch in his breathing, his hands going to his stethoscope to listen to his patient's lungs.

"Flash, are you having any trouble breathing?" Wally shook his head, taking a deep breath to calm himself. Dr. Richard wrapped the instrument back around his neck, "We can get you a mask if you need it. Nurse—" Wally grasped the doctor's wrist, getting his attention.

"I remember." Wally croaked, breaking into a coughing fit. Dr. Richards grabbed the small cup from the bedside table, filling it with water from the bottle of water sitting next to it.

Dr. Richards frowned, confusion etching his face as he handed the hero the small cup of water. "You remember the seizure?"

Wally shook his head, taking a sip before answering.

"Everything." Dr. Richard's eyes widened. "I remember everything."

Wally closed his eyes, taking deep breaths to calm his racing heart. Dr. Richards ran his hands trough his hair, letting out a sigh. "Do you have your communicator? If you know anything I can relay it to Batman—"

Wally furrowed his brow, slowly adjusting his bed into a sitting position. "What do you mean 'relay it to Batman'? Where is Batman?"

Dr. Richards shuffled his feet, a twinge of awkwardness hitting him, "Um. Well, Flash. Batman isn't here."

Wally stared at the doctor, waiting for him to elaborate. When he didn't, he pushed, "Well where is he?"

"I believe the went to the warehouse…" Wally groaned, his head falling into his hands.

"Why would they do that! They don't even know what they're walking right into!" He grabbed the sheets on his bed, tossing them to the side as he tried to clamber out of the hospital bed. "I have to warn them."

"Oh no you don't!" Dr. Richards ran up to the struggling hero, pushing him back against the bed with ease. "I'm not about to become bat chow because you decided to go all kamikaze and get yourself killed." Wally opened his mouth to object, but Dr. Richards wasn't having it.

"No. Flash, you are in no condition to do anything but stay here in this room and recuperate. You'll be back up and risking your life soon enough."

Wally just rolled his eyes, letting out a frustrated groan as his body silently agreed with the doctor. "Fine. Hand me my ear piece so I can at least call him to tell him they're about to walk into a pack of very hungry hyenas. Please." Dr. Richards nodded, looking around for the small device.

"I'm probably gonna have to grab it from someone else. They took it with your other stuff when you were brought in." Wally crossed his arms, Dr. Richards taking that as 'go get it' and so he left the hospital room, off to find the communicator. But not before grabbing a passing Atom, aka Ray Palmer.

"Dr. Palmer," Atom stopped, smiling at the medical doctor.

"What can I do for you doctor?"

"Can you go and sit by Flash in med bay three? I'm afraid he'll try to get up and do something stupid before I get the chance to patch him up." Palmer just laughed, nodding as he laid a reassuring hand on the flustered doctor's shoulder.

"I'll see what I can do," He smiled and walked into the area, Dr. Richards feeling a bit better now that someone Flash respected might be able to keep him level headed.

Ray Palmer walked to the speedster's side, shocked by all the bandages and bruises. He frowned, he'd heard that Wally has been in bad shape, but seeing it was different than hearing about it and the founding members had kept their youngest founder away from prying eyes as much as possible. He had a feeling a certain bat had a hand in that more than the others. Though an injured Flash always meant an overprotective Founding 7.

Wally looked up as he made his way to the chair in the corner of the room, a small smile as greeting.

"I'm here to make sure you aren't stupid." He said, laughing as Wally pouted in his hospital bed.

"You don't need to babysit me Ray. I'm going to stay put." Ray just snorted, "Alright, alright. For now."

"We're just trying to make sure you get better Wally. You've got to let you're body heal. We all want you to get through this and in order to do that, you need to listen to Dr. Richards. He knows what he's doing, and he's saved your life twice now."

Wally sighed, "I know. I just hate being on the sidelines, you know?" Ray nodded, "I mean you know how it was after I took out Luthor and Braniac. They barely let me out of their sight, let alone out into the field."

Ray nodded, he remembered. They'd almost lost Flash when Luthor and Brainiac had tried to take over the world. The founding members hadn't taken that well and Flash had pouted and whined for a week before they finally let him go into any fights. Then it had been a little longer after that until they didn't send one other founding member with him on missions. Usually Batman or Hawkgirl.

"You're important to us Wally and they're just worried about you." Wally looked up at him, he sighed at the sad look in the younger hero's eyes. "You'll probably have to live with it for a little while after this, but you're important to the League, Wally. We were all scared when they rolled you in on that stretcher."

Wally stared at his feet, a frown marring his face, "I remember it all, Ray. When I first got back, I didn't but something about that seizure brought it all flooding back."

Ray nodded, "Repressed memories have a way of showing themselves in strange ways. It might've been what caused the seizure in the first place." Wally thought about that, but it only made his head hurt more.

Wally looked up from the end of the bed, Dr. Richards coming into the room with a small plastic bag. The earpiece in the plastic. "Here it is, Flash." He gave the hero the device, watching as Flash put it in his ear.

Just as he started to turn the device on, a huge crash sounded from outside the room.

"What the—" Richards and Atom ran to the door, rushing into a chaotic hall filled with running heroes. The alarm was blaring, red lights flashing giving the halls an eerie look.

"What's happening?" Wally shouted from his bed, arm wrapped around his chest as he tried to see what was going on.

Ray ran to the speedster's side, "You have to stay here. Don't be stupid." He pushed the speedster back on the bed, running out into the hall as another explosion came from the other end. Wally grit his teeth, his body shooting with pain as the boom shook his hospital bed. He flung his legs over the side of the bed, wobbling a little as he grabbed onto the IV stand for support. He managed to hobble to the door before another explosion almost sent him to the ground. He opened the door only to find a huffing Dr. Richards on the other side.

Dr. Richards pushed Flash back into the hospital room, glancing down the hall before pulling him by the hospital gown back out into the now debris ridden hall. "You need to come with me, Flash." Wally looked at the doctor, perplexed. Dr. Richards sighed, rolling his eyes as he ushered the injured hero out the door and down the hall towards the transporters.

"Someone is here with a lot of fire power and they're looking for you." Wally's eyes widened, another explosion toppling him into Dr. Richards, the doctor catching him and supporting him as they made their way down the hall. "I heard them yelling to find you alive, so that's a bonus, but that probably means they want to take you somewhere and as I said before, I do not have any intention of dying by Batman's hands." Wally chuckled, his face grimaced in pain as they managed to make it to the aircraft hangar doors. Heroes were rushing around them as they went to go fight whatever was attacking the tower. The tower was only quarter-staffed at the moment, most heroes off on other missions or in their own cities.

Just as they were rounding the bend, Booster Gold flew into the wall, crumpling in a heap on the floor. Dr. Richards steadied Flash before rushing to the golden hero's aid, but Booster simply pushed him back as a black-clad man wearing a ski mask cam barreling at him, knocking him unconscious.

The masked man turned from the unconscious Booster, to look at Flash, eyes lighting in excitement. He lifted his wrist, "Code red! Code red! I've got him, by the hangar doors."

Dr. Richards whirled around, grabbing Flash and shoving them through the hangar doors, pressing the red 'lock' button. "That's not going to hold for long and you need to get out of here." He thrust something into Wally's bandaged hands, Wally glanced down to see it was his uniform ring, smiling at the doctor before clutching the ring in his fist.

"What about you?"

Dr. Richard just chuckled. "I'm the Watchtower team doctor, they're going to need me here once you leave." Wally started to protest, but stopped when he saw Dr. Richard's face, "You get into a Javelin and fly to wherever you feel safest. Once you're there tell no one, but Batman or another Leaguer, not even me. You're clearly important to these men and they're going to try their hardest to get to you." A thunk hit the doors, the metal bending towards them. Wally glanced at the crunching metal as it started to bend more under their pursuers punches.

"Go!" Richards shouted, Wally just shook his head.

"I'm not going to leave you here alone, we'll take him out and go together!" The door crashed in, the man in black now had back up, another black clad, ski mask wearing thug. They advanced on Flash and the doctor. Gripping the silver pole of his IV stand, Flash waited until ski mask one was closer, then swung, catching the assailant by surprise.

"Yeah! Betcha thought I was some wimp! Not today creepy ninja!" He lashed out again with the IV stand, this time catching ski mask on the side of his head. A large gash appeared, but quickly sealed itself, looking as though it hadn't been there. Wally stood, mouth open as he watched the flesh heal itself. Ski mask merely shook his head and continued advancing on Flash.

"Okay, Walls, this guy isn't you're run of the mill ninja...thing." Wally tossed the IV stand at ski mask, feeling his IV rip from his hand. He glanced over at the doctor, surprised to see him holding his own against the other ski mask as he used a discarded scrap of metal against the other ski mask.

Flash looked away, surprised to find his ski mask quickly approaching, darting to the left as the bumbling attacker tried to get him. Wally winced, but grinned, "Ha! I may be a little down for the count, but I'm still faster than you!" The ski mask just growled, running at him again. Wally grabbed him by the arm, whirling in a circle before sending him into the wall, his head cracking as he slumped to the ground. Wally rushed over to the doctor, just as he sent a slumped Dr. Richards a few feet away. Wally punched the other assailant in quick fashion, disorienting the ski mask long enough to spin and grab him around the neck, trying to knock him out with a chokehold.

"C'mon dang it! Sleep!" Wally looked over at Dr. Richards on the floor, his eye was swelling and a little blood was at the corner of his mouth. He was unconscious but Wally could see him breathing. The ski mask in the chokehold grabbed Wally's hand, the sudden strength in the man's grip surprising him.

"Holy shit! You're strong!" The man laughed as he flipped Wally onto his back, knocking all the wind out of him. Wally rolled away just as a boot landed where his head had been. "Hey! That's not nice! You really shouldn't kick someone when they're down." He zipped to the other side of the hangar, grabbing things and hurling them at the charging man. Just as he was about to grab the man, the shiny glint from the man's arm caught his eye, there was a metal brace on his arm. "That must be what's making him so strong." He yelped, his opponent had managed to grab his bad shoulder. His vision dimmed, the adrenaline rush he'd had slowly fading and being replaced by excruciating pain.

"AH!" He screamed, a boot catching him in the ribs and sending him sprawling to the ground. He crawled away, trying to grab, the IV stand he'd used earlier, but was stopped when he felt a sharp pain rip through his leg, feeling the ski mask's boot come down in his shin.

The man in the ski mask, grabbed Wally by his hair, lifting him up, ignoring his screams as more men in black came into the room.

"Stop fuckin' around!We need him alive! Grab him and let's go!" The man who held Wally growled and clenched his teeth, punching Wally in the back of the head, knocking the hero out cold.

Dr. Richards woke up on the floor, his eyes focusing on a dozen black clad men carting Flash onto a waiting ship now in the hangar.

Terrific burst through the door yelling for them to stop just as the ramp shut. Richards watched Mr. Terrific scramble after them, fear and dread filling him as he watched the ship leave.

They had Flash.

Terrific groaned, arm clutched to his chest as he watched the ship leave. "Man," He said, "Batman is so going to kill me."

Dr. Richards grimaced, partially because he was hurting, but mostly because he didn't want to face the angry bat once he got to the Watchtower and Flash was gone.

Hell hath no fury like an angry bat.

...

Truth. Ray Palmer is closer to Silver Age/JLU Ray Palmer. Dr. Richards is fictional so you can insinuate any background between him and Ray that you like.

Also, I find Booster Gold annoying so I knocked him out. sorrynotsorry.

Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own DC.

10 chapters! Wooo!

...

Dick ran towards Bruce, wincing as the Joker landed another solid kick to Batman's stomach, "Batman! Duck!" Bruce dove out of the way, the batarang Dick threw exploding at Joker and Harley's feet. The explosion sent them flying to the floor hard.

Bruce grabbed the Joker, punching him over and over again, anger flaring in him as he remembered the words in Wally's stomach. "What did you want with the Flash?" He shouted in the Joker's face, but the clown wasn't intimidated. Instead, he just laughed, making Batman even angrier. He punched him again, this time in the chest, dropping the laughing maniac on the floor. "What did you want with the Flash, Joker?"

The Joker laughed again, this time a little trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth, "I was just doing my job Batsy!" Bruce glared at the Joker sprawled on the floor, stepping right next to him.

"What job?" Bruce growled, grabbing the Joker by the collar again and hauling him up from the ground, setting him on his feet.

"I'm not telling! That would spoil the punch line! Ha ha!" Bruce just growled, punching the Joker across the face, blood coming from his huge, smiling mouth.

"Batman!" Dick yelled, having successfully knocked out Harley. "Stop! He has to stay alive!" Dick managed to keep Bruce from, punching the clown again, but Bruce still had him by the shirtfront.

"What did you want with the Flash, Joker?" This time it was Dick who asked the question, a calming hand on Bruce's tense shoulder.

"Aw, is the baby bat trying to be all grown up? Ha! That's funny!" Dick glared at the Joker, sending a swift kick to the maniac's groin.

Batman just looked at him, ignoring the squealing villain in his hands. "And you give me crap?" Dick shrugged, noticing Roy and Jason coming from the other side of the warehouse.

"Ha ha ha!" The Joker just smiled, eyes bright as Batman gripped his collar tighter, lifting his feet from the ground. Batman shot his fist up into the Joker's jaw, only making the clown laugh harder.

"Ha ha ha! He said you'd fall for it!" Batman stopped, fist primed for another punch.

"Who is he?" Joker spat blood onto the pavement, still smiling as the others slowly made their way over to the two of them, the hyenas and Harley down for the count.

"Joker," Superman flew next to Batman, careful to keep close enough should he need to step in, but far enough away that he might be a little slow. "What are you talking about? Fall for what?"

The Joker laughed once again, Batman ready to bring his fist forward, but instead finding a strong hand stopping him. He sent Superman a glare, sending him back a step, but Clark kept a calming hand on Batman's shoulder. "We need to know what he knows and killing him isn't going to make him talk."

Bruce growled, tossing the villain on the ground. "Fine. We'll do it your way, but—" He paused, looking around at the rest of the group, "if this takes too long, it's on you and then we'll do this my way." Nightwing, Arsenal, and Red Hood nodded, agreeing with the bat. The others nodded, a bit more reluctantly.

Batman loomed in front of the Joker; he'd stopped laughing and was just smiling through the blood dripping down his chin. "What are you talking about, Joker?"

Wiping his chin with his purple sleeve, the Joker sighed, giggling before answering the angry hero. "He said you'd all come down here to get me. That message seemed to do the trick, didn't it Batsy?" He laughed, emphasizing the nickname he'd carved in Wally's stomach. He smiled more when Dick had to hold the Dark Knight from going after the lunatic. "Ha ha! He said that you would all be so mad that someone would hurt your boy that you'd all just come running…" He smiled, a chill shooting down their spines, "…and leave him all alone up on the little Watchtower."

Nightwing let go as Batman grabbed the Joker by his collar and slammed him against the wall. "What are you talking about?"

"Ha ha! You seem tense, Batsy. Maybe you ought to have a lie down now, teehee." Batman growled, pushing the Joker harder into the wall, his temper holding on by a thread.

"Tell me what you know!" The Joker coughed, the air knocked out of him as Batman tossed him towards Nightwing, the other hero grabbing him by the scruff.

"I know that our speedy friend is about to get some visitors. Right about—" He smiled. "—now."

"Terrific to Batman! Batman!" Everyone could hear Terrific yelling through the communicators in their ear, loud explosions ringing in the background. Eyes wide, Batman reached for his communicator.

"What's happening up there Terrific?" The Joker started laughing, a loud, obnoxious, and terrifying sound that echoed through the empty warehouse. Superman glared at the manic clown and punched him once, effectively knocking the villain out cold.

Everyone just raised their brows, surprise on their faces. Superman shrugged, "He wasn't going to tell us anything else, and he was getting on my nerves."

Batman tried to get in contact with Terrific again, no answer. "Damn it!" He yelled, punching the nearest metal container, leaving a small dent in its side. He started running for the exit, Dick, Roy and Jason immediately following him.

Shayera, grabbed the unconscious Harley a few feet away, pushing from the ground into the air. "We can't reach them and they need our help, so we'll grab these two lunatics and go."

Superman grabbed the unconscious Joker and flew towards the exit, leaving the large pile of hyenas where they were.

"What about them?" Roy said gesturing to the pile as they all ran out of the building.

Batman growled, his mind elsewhere, Dick just sighed, "I've already put in a call to Gotham P.D. and they're bringing animal control. They'll put them somewhere until we can figure out what to do with them." Roy nodded, scrambling to follow after Batman. Dick and Jason just looked at each other.

"I hope that whoever's behind all this knows that we're going to tear him apart." Jason ground out, his fist clenched as they sprinted back to the Javelin, everyone piling into the aircraft before it launched into the atmosphere.

Dick nodded, "They better pray Wally is safe when we get there or Batman is going to lose it." The aforementioned hero was solely concentrated on the controls, but the other heroes in the Javelin couldn't help but think the same thing.

If there was one thing they knew, it was that Batman would tear the world apart to find Wally. And when he found those responsible, there was no telling what he'd do.

...

Bum bum BUUUUM! More Wally!whump to come. mwahahahahahaha. I'm so mean to that boy. You should check out my other story, Influence. I'm pretty mean to him in that one too. *wink*

Thanks for reading!


	11. Chapter 11

I do not own DC.

I own the small man though...

...

Wally became aware of a bright light in his eyes, a grating voice from above him. He could feel a hard table underneath him, the cold plate of steel. He had a metallic taste in his mouth and he could feel small round stickers on his head and chest.

"Hello, Flash? Hello?" A small man with wire-rimmed glasses and a terrible comb-over hovered in Wally's vision.

"Ah!" He said clapping his hands together after noticing Wally blink his eyes open. "Welcome to the land of the somewhat-living Mr. Flash! How's your head?"

Wally groaned, noticing for the first time the pain at the back of his head. "Fine and dandy."

The little man just laughed, "Oh hoho. Someone still has his sense of humor I see. Our little adventure last time did nothing to quell that I imagine." Wally just stared at the ceiling, not giving the creep the satisfaction.

"Ah. I see." The small man walked to the table, adjusting the wires leading to various pieces of machinery. Wally felt sick.

This is how it had been last time.

"You can stay silent now all you want Flash, but you remember, you'll be talking and singing like a bird in no time." The man smiled at Wally, looking to the world like a normal guy. Not a deranged psychopath.

"We'll check your vitals here, take a few samples and be on our merry way in a jiff, yeah?" Wally growled, the little man giggled.

Wally tried moving his arms, but felt the cold pressure of restraints, on his feet and neck, too. He could do little else but lay still and stare at the same white ceiling he had before as blood samples were taken. Déjà vu hadn't ever been this terrifying. The little man pulled on a pair of leather gloves and pulled a small table filled with medical equipment and knives over to the table. Wally's heart monitor spiked.

"Oh look! Finally a reaction from you, dear boy. I thought our last session had dulled the sensation and I was going to have to turn it up a notch." Wally simply looked at the lunatic briefly before looking back up at the ceiling. His heart sank. He'd barely made it out of here last time, he wasn't sure he'd make it again.

A beep sounded in the room, the man perking up at the sound. He moved from the table and glanced at a computer screen on the wall, smiling as he typed a few words.

"It seems your friends fell for our little game, Flash." He smiled, reading a second message before sending back a response and walking back to Wally's side.

Wally frowned. "Oh yes," he said, grabbing a syringe from the silver tray, "You were in too much pain at that point to truly recognize what was happening. You see," he said, filling the syringe with a small liquid and inserting it into the IV in Wally's arm, "I left a little message with you that would send your team on a goose chase. Or a clown chase, as it were." Wally's eyes widened, remembering the bandages covering his body, he'd never looked and no one had told him the extent of his injuries.

"Ah yes, you know. I put it right here," he said tapping Wally's abdomen, the speedster flinching from his touch. "The Joker has been taken in by your super friends, but he has done his job. He was a distraction so we could get you."

"Why?" Wally croaked.

The little man put the syringe back on the tray, Wally's arms and legs getting feeling back. He started to struggle in his restraints, only making the little man smile.

"Because we needed them to fix you, Flash." Wally stopped struggling.

"Fix me?"

He nodded, "Yes, I needed to know what they would give you to make you heal."

"I don't understand." Wally said squinting at the ceiling, he could see the man out of the corner of his eye, circling to the other side to make adjustments to a machine on the other side of him.

"Yes, I can see that. And really, you don't need to." He paused, leaning over the table so Wally could see him. "All you need to know is we are going on another little ride." Wally stared in shock at the crazy man, his heart thumping in his ears.

"You're helping modern scientific advancements, if that helps you take the pain." He smiled. "Our guinea pigs went to fetch you and I must say they did an excellent job. Though I didn't expect you to take one of them out." He pursed his lips, crossing back over to the side with the medical table and picked up a small syringe. "But our little science experiment had a few unforeseen side effects. It seems the average human body cannot withstand the stress of such a thing and most of our first batch has failed."

"Failed?" Wally asked, almost not wanting the answer. Wally was trying to keep up, but for the life of him he couldn't understand what the little man was talking about.

"Dead, Flash. They died from cardiac arrest, but we knew our first batch wouldn't be perfect so we sent you away to your ivory, or silver, tower and had your pals fix you up so I could take samples of their concoctions." He paused, filling the small vial and jamming the needle in Wall's arm. "So I'm afraid it's back to square one, you've healed reasonably well, but we don't have the time for perfection. Let's see what you've got Flash."

Pain shook Wally's frame, his back arching from the table, the pain so strong he couldn't do anything but scream. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he continued to scream until the overwhelming flood of pain became a dull throb through his body. Wally gasped for air, his body spent. He didn't have to wait long for another assault, he looked up in time to see the man plunge a knife into his thigh, the pain almost sending him over the edge.

Another wave of pain hit him, his body arching, his screams echoing around the room. He could hear the machines on either side of him going wild, his heart sounding like it was in a battle for its life, and losing. He didn't know how much more he could take, the current increased. His vision dimmed and he could feel himself slipping.

 _Maybe it's better this way._ He thought, almost slipping over the edge into unconsciousness. But he was allowed no such luxury. The little man slapped him awake, and had started making small cuts along Wally's arms and legs, careful to avoid any major arteries or veins. The pool of blood grew beneath him on the table.

Wally gasped for air, sweat flushing his skin. "Why?" He swallowed another scream as his felt the large knife plunge into his shoulder, beneath the wound from before. "Why?" He screamed at the small man, the smile on the deranged man's face chilling him.

"It's purely science, Flash." He lifted the knife, the blood dripping, taunting Wally as the little man wiped it on his white overcoat and approached the table.

Wally felt the blade at his throat. He stared at the crazed man, the man looking like an addict after withdrawal in front of his next score.

"It's science, nothing personal." The cold metal of the blade slipped from his throat, the sharp pain in his belly telling him where it went. He gasped, coughing up blood as the small man left the blade in his gut, and walked to the sink. As his vision dimmed he saw the small man take off his gloves, rinse his hands of blood, and hang his bloodied coat on the coat rack.

Like it was any other day in the lab.

The little man left him, lying on the slab. Heart slowing, vision dimming, breath hitched in his throat.

 _Bruce, I'm sorry._ He let out a ragged breath, letting go of his grip on reality, falling into the darkness.

...

Man... that was rough. Onto the next chapter! :)

As always, thanks for reading!


	12. Chapter 12

Long time no post, whoops. This chapter isn;t very long, sorry, but I'm having a bit of a writer's block situation going on, but I know how it's going to end so I just have to get there. Yay writing!

Disclaimer: I don't own DC. I own creepy small guy from the earlier chapter and Dr. Richards and this strange plot.

Enjoy!

...

They made it to the Watchtower in record time, Bruce hitting speeds the team didn't know were possible in the aircraft. They landed in the hangar, exiting the ramp into destruction. Boxes of stuff were scattered all over the area, the metal doors bursting outwards, a huge hole in the center. Black streaks and the smell of smoke flooded their senses as they watched other heroes on board work to clean up the mess. No one looked up as they came in.

That wasn't a good sign.

"Take Joker and Harley to the holding cells, maximum hold on both of them." Bruce barked, not even looking at whom he was speaking to. Instead he marched into the fray, looking for Terrific and the Atom. He caught sight of the latter, leaning heavily on Dr. Richards as they made their way to the medical bay, which was filled with injured heroes.

The other members' eyes widened at the sheer number of injured in the medical wing, not many without a bloody gash or broken bone.

"What happened?" Batman snarled. Dr. Richards handed Ray to the nearest scrub, rushing to the angry bat. His own head was bandaged and his arm in a sling. He looked like he'd taken a beating.

"Batman, you're here!"

Batman glared at the doctor, his jaw clenched. "What happened here, Richards? Where's Flash?"

Dr. Richards frowned, his face a mask of sadness and guilt. A feeling of fear filled Bruce, making it hard for him to breathe. "Where is he doctor?" He said, barely a whisper.

Dr. Richards sighed, looking at the anxious faces behind Batman, "He's gone. They took him after they destroyed half the tower." Bruce's heart sank, he couldn't breathe.

Wally was gone, he'd been too late.

The doctor reached forward with his good hand and placed it on the agonized hero, seeing the look of despair enter the Dark Knight's gaze, the others behind him letting out expletives and shouts of anger. "He didn't go down without a fight, though." Bruce looked up his face blank, but hope in his eyes as the doctor gestured for them to follow.

They walked through the halls to the open medical wing, moving to the back where they held injured prisoners. Batman walked faster, something telling him that they might not be so hopeless after all. Dr. Richards pulled back the curtain, revealing a man unconscious, strapped to the table. A metal brace wrapped along his arm and torso. A black ski mask was on the floor next to him.

"Before they overpowered him, Flash managed to take out one of the men who came here for him. Apparently there's no warm and fuzzies for their comrade here, they left him behind." Bruce walked up to the unconscious man, taking in every detail.

"What's on his arm?" Superman asked, walking to stand by Batman.

"The only thing Terrific and I can guess is that's what gave him his strength. There were at least a dozen more of them and they all had super strength and…" He paused, the others looking at him, waiting for him to continue.

"What is it doctor?" Wonder Woman asked, Dr. Richards walked over to the cupboard against the wall, opened the cabinet to pull out a small package. He handed Batman the package, the Dark Knight's brow rising.

"Open it please." Dr. Richards said, his eyes telling Bruce to trust him. Bruce nodded, opening the package to reveal a small scalpel. Richards walked up to the criminal on the table and made a small incision in the man's arm. The others surprised that the mild-mannered would do such a thing until they watched as the man's skin knit itself back together. A small line of blood all that remained of the doctor's incision.

"What the HELL was that?" Jason exclaimed, the other silently agreeing with him.

"I believe that is the reason why they took Flash." Richards said, tossing the scalpel in the nearest medical receptacle.

"What are you talking about, doc?" Dick walked up to the unconscious mercenary, looking closer at the incision.

"I've seen those properties before, when the Flash has been in the med bay and I've seen his cuts heal. It's the same thing, to a 'T'. My guess is they wanted that ability in their mercenaries." He walked over to the small table next to the table holding their captive and brought Batman a file. "I ran a tox-screen on our boy here and a few other routine tests and other than the healing, he's a human. Fully. The screen test showed large amounts of a foreign agent, but it wouldn't register on the database. My guess is someone somewhere has managed to make Flash's antibodies into some sort of healing agent that when administered to the normal person gives them the ability to heal themselves. Remarkable if it wasn't so convoluted."

Batman frowned, looking over the data as the others in the room took in the information. "What do you mean by convoluted?"

"I mean," Richards said, frowning as he grabbed another file from the table, "I had to restart this gentleman's heart twice. The ability Flash has to heal at an extreme rate comes from his body's inability to operate at an average human speed. So when introduced to a normal human, the average human body can't take the stress and the heart stops. So, convoluted if the thing that's supposed to heal your lackeys ends up killing them."

Bruce tossed the files on the table, looking over the man on the table. Suddenly, the man began to groan, his head shifting, as he regained consciousness.

Jason walked up to the secured criminal and slapped him right across the face. Everyone, except Bruce and Dick, jumped.

"Hey!" Jason yelled, the man glaring at him, "Where's Flash? We know you helped take him so where is he you self-healing freak?"

Dick rolled his eyes. Roy just grinned as he watched the usually stoic Jason become a little unhinged, Bruce just put his hand on Jason's shoulder, taking his place in front of the mercenary.

"Who do you work for?" He growled.

The mercenary just laughed and looked away, Bruce grabbed him by the chin, starting everyone in the room this time, Dr. Richards grabbing the gauze and medical tape just in case things got ugly.

"I asked you a question." Bruce tightened his grip, the mercenary wincing from the pressure. "Who. Do. You. Work. For."

"I don't know." The mercenary spat out, "We never got names, I don't even know who I came with to come get that guy. We were given a picture and told to bring a target to the location."

"Where was the location?" Bruce asked, ready to throw a punch if necessary.

"Calm down Scary," The merc said, rolling his eyes, "They left me here, I have no loyalty to those guys. They told us to take him to some abandoned lab in Gotham, it used to be a government facility for a program they shut down."

Bruce looked at Dick, both of them knowing exactly what he was talking about.

"But you're probably too late."

"What do you mean?" Wonder Woman asked, worry in her voice.

"I mean, our orders were to bring him in. But they didn't exactly care if it was in one piece. That usually means he doesn't have much longer to…" The mercenary coughed, blood leaking out the corner of his mouth. Suddenly his body went rigid and he let out a scream as Dr. Richard called in the medical staff.

"What the fu—" Roy yelled, moving out of the way as the guy on the table flailed and went still. His heart monitor going still. Everyone stopped what they were doing, staring at the man on the table as Dr. Richards tried to bring him back, but after a few attempts waved off the intern with the paddles and called the time of death.

"What happened, doctor?" Shayera asked, her voice low as everyone just looked at the dead criminal in shock.

"I don't know, Hawk Girl. But we'll do an autopsy and find out. He should have been fine, but then again, we don't really know what we're dealing with."

Bruce nodded, "keep us informed, Richards." He walked out of the room, Roy, Jason and Dick close behind, the rest following him more hesitantly.

"What are you going to do Batman?" Green Lantern asked, his voice firm enough to stop Bruce in his tracks.

"I'm going to get Wally back." He stared at his team, at his protégés, "Are you going to help me, or are you going to get in my way?"

Green Lantern frowned, "We aren't going to get in your way, but we need to know so we can help." He crossed his arms, the others nodding, "We want him home, too."

Bruce growled, "Fine. I'll take these three down to Gotham." He said, gesturing to Roy, Dick, and Jason, "Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern should go for tactical support while I need Hawk Girl and J'onn up here as coordination and eyes in the sky. We should be able to use the transporters now, correct?"

J'onn nodded, "Repairs were finished while we were on Earth, we should be able to use them now that they are operational."

Bruce rolled his eyes, annoyed at the technological problems they always seemed to be having. "But we need to go now, I'm not going to risk any more time talking about the plan than I need to, I'll fill you in on the way."

They nodded, Batman not waiting for an answer, the knot in his stomach growing as they hurried to the Central Control.

 _Hang on Wally, I'm coming for you._ Bruce thought, his jaw tight, he only hoped they made it in time.

...

Will they make it in time? Who knows.


	13. Chapter 13

Sorry! Long time no upload. Been busy. But here's the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own DC

Enjoy!

...

 _In._

 _Out._

 _In._

 _Out._

Wally concentrated on his breathing, it was hard to do much of anything else. The pain he'd felt earlier after his chat with Dr. Creep was slowly fading away, now it was all he could do to breathe.

It was quiet in the small room, he heard a drip coming from the sink, and the odd footstep or two, but otherwise he was alone. Silence and a numbing sensation spreading through him.

 _I'm dying._

He was surprised he wasn't more terrified of the thought. But then again he wasn't feeling much of anything at the moment so dying didn't seem so horrible except _…Bruce._

 _I can't die._ He took a sharp breath in, the throbbing in his stomach returning as he came out of his stupor.

 _I can't leave Bruce alone. I promised him I wouldn't do that._ Wally concentrated on his breath.

 _In. Out. In. Out. InOutInOutInOut_ …. He focused his energy, gaining sensation in his arms and legs all the pain rushing back into him like a wave, his instincts fighting him to cry out with the sensation, but he ignored it. He moved on the table, lifting his head he looked down at himself, the knife handle was still sticking out of his gut.

 _How long have I been like this?_ He shook his head, _No time to think about that._ _Must. Get. Out._

He tugged on his restraints, the blade throbbing in his gut, but he managed to vibrate his hands enough to get full sensation back. Looking around, he couldn't see anything that would get him out of his predicament, taking a deep breath he centered his thoughts, all energy devoted to the singular task of vibrating his arms and legs. He could feel the metal around his ankles and wrists, and their slow dissipation as he vibrated his hands through the material.

BOOM!

His hands and legs were through, he rolled off the table, smoke rising from the metal cuffs lying in a destroyed pile on the crimson stained table. Wally gasped as the knife in his belly moved, he stood, slowly, gripping the table hard so he could make his way to the cabinets. He threw open all the doors in rapid succession, tossing through them for anything he could use to stop the bleeding. His fast metabolism had helped heal most of the minor wounds, his recent calorie cocktail at the Watchtower helping him with that, but that had been…however long ago. And he wasn't sure he'd make it very far if he didn't stop the bleeding once he took out the knife.

He opened the last cabinet, wanting to cry out in relief at the sight of the rolls of gauze and medical tape. He quickly grabbed the supplies and looked around for a way to clean the wound, the only thing he could see a half full bottle of some type of vodka on the desk in the corner. He grit his teeth grabbed the bottle from the table, walked over by the sink with the gauze and tape, and took one last look around. He was still alone.

He knew this was going to hurt. He ripped off the shredded sleeve of his suit and twisted it into a knot, biting down hard. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the hilt of the knife, other hand on the vodka, and pulled. He bit down hard on the wad of fabric in his mouth, breathing hard through his nose to keep from screaming. Blood flooded out of the wound, he grabbed the open bottle of vodka and poured it on the area, again his instinct to scream reaching a fever pitch as he grabbed the gauze and pushed down, hard. He layered on the gauze and quickly taped it multiple times around his waist. Satisfied that would hold temporarily, he ran to the door, amazed to find it unlocked and looked down the hall.

No one.

He ran to the end of the hall, spotting two guards at intervals along the hall, their grey uniforms making the guns at their sides stick out. Just as he took a step to run down the hall, he heard a loud commotion up ahead, the guards in front of him leaving their post.

"Well that's convenient…" He zipped down after them, looking for a door or windows so he could crawl out but there wasn't any indication of anything that would lead outside anywhere. He kept going, winding his way through the maze of gray scale walls and locked doors, he passed a few observation windows looking into various labs, all of them with teams of lab techs at work on something. He couldn't stop long to look, but he was pretty sure they were working on whatever Dr. Creep had tortured him for.

He made it to the end of the hall, all the guards seeming to have run off somewhere, and opened the double doors, walking straight into an explosive mess. He looked around and heard gunfire, the glow from the fiery explosion casting everything in shades of orange and yellow. He looked around, there were men and women strewn across the floor, all of them wearing the same grey uniform he'd seen the earlier guards in.

"What the hell happened…man, what have you gotten yourself into, Wallace?" He looked around the room and saw the source of the explosion in pieces on the other side of the large area, a blown out SUV, still on fire. He zipped over towards the gunfire, seeing a few people engaged with more uniformed men in black wearing what looked like black cargo pants, combat boots, and black t-shirts. They had lasers, green beams shot from their weapons and they clearly had the upper hand, only a few of the grey uniforms were still standing.

It didn't last long, Flash tried to run and help, but watched as the last grey uniform hit the ground, one of the men in a black uniform talking into an earpiece. Wally watched in shock from behind a pillar as Dr. Creep himself was thrown down on the floor by another black-clad mercenary, his eyes wide open in a listless stare, Wally winced. He hated the guy, but he hated killing people more.

Wally looked up in time to see another group of similarly, uniformed men in black run into the area. Who he saw next made him want to scream.

Lex Luthor walked slowly and measuredly into the destroyed area, his eyes looking over at Dr. Creep before he rolled his eyes in disgust.

"Find Flash." Wally's blood went cold. "I want him alive."

Wally bit down hard, his stab wound screaming at him that he needed medical attention and soon or Luthor would find him very much dead.

He watched the men spread out, a group of them headed his way. He ran back towards where he came from but made a turn and ran back around towards where he'd seen Luthor. He ducked behind a few pillars as the men moved around the building looking for him. He made it back into the destroyed area, this time over by the blown out SUV. He could feel the heat coming from the smoldering mess.

Looking around he checked for Luthor and his goons, but with no one in sight he took the opportunity to run straight for the hole Luthor had walked through. He ran into a second hall, and saw the double doors leading outside.

 _Finally!_

He ran. He breathing hitched, causing him to cough the metallic taste of blood on his tongue. He ignored the pain and ran straight out into the world.

And right into Lex Luthor.

"Hello, Flash." Lex oozed charm, his eyes a soft gleam as he looked down at Flash who had fallen on the ground. "What's your hurry?"

Wally stood, the men that had been looking for him came out of the building and surrounded him, he was stuck. He could feel his energy and consciousness waning. He spat on the ground, blood coloring the dirt. He clutched his stomach, the wetness where he'd bled through the bandage soaking his bare hand, "Lex." He spat out. "We've really gotta stop meeting like this." Wally smirked, satisfied when he saw Luthor roll his eyes. He paused, quickly trying to gauge the situation. Twenty-two to one. He could take those odds.

"What do you want this time, Lex?" Luthor smiled, Flash clenched his jaw, the ability to stand slowly fading.

"I want you, Flash. I have realized over the years just how under appreciated your skillset has been." Wally stared open-mouthed at the villain in front of him, listening as he went on. "You defeated Brainiac and I combined, that takes guts." He looked at Wally, his eyes hard, "And power. You have a specific skill I would like to harness, but it seem my research partner decided he wanted to get carried away and take it all for himself." Luthor stopped a moment, looking at Wally in his injured state and he frowned, "For what it's worth I am sorry Dr. Kryvonis got carried away. It seems he was a crazier bastard than I thought. We wanted to harness your healing abilities, but we disagreed on the method in which to attain that. Though, consider it payback for literally tearing Brainiac from me. Keeping you alive is thanks for not killing me. We're even." He looked almost apologetic, but Flash knew otherwise. Luthor was a genius at manipulation and he wasn't about to let his guard down.

"Well, for what it's worth, you can kiss my ass." Wally spat out, tasting blood in his mouth. "And as much as I would love to stand here and listen to you bitch and moan about your business missteps, I have to go now–"

"Ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you." Wally stopped mid-step, Luthor's tone sending a chill down his spine, "You see we're far away from any medical facilities and really, even as fast as you are, in your state you won't make it. Then I'll just have to collect your corpse, and I don't want to do that."

Wally took in a deep breath, gauging his senses and he knew luthor was right. "Well that just brings a whole new meaning to the phrase 'over my dead body' doesn't it? I'd rather you collect my corpse than willingly go along with you, Lex."

Luthor chuckled, nodding over Wally's shoulder to the men standing there. Wally felt two men grab his arms, a distinct sense of deja vu overwhelming him. Wally tugged in their grip, noticing for the first time their metal braces. Their strength wasn't human. "We've been here before. It didn't work out for you last time, Lex. Give it up."

"Ah yes, we have haven't we. But you see, I learn from experience and brought better back-up. I get a redo, but I don't wish for Armageddon." Luthor stepped up close, his face inches in front of Wally's, "But I'm still just human enough to want my revenge."

...

BUM BUM BUUUUUMMMM! Will update sooner!

Thanks for reading!


	14. Chapter 14

AHHHH! It has taken me so long to upload this! I'm so sorry for the wait, but I had major writer's block. But it's over for now *whew*

Disclaimer: I do not own DC.

Enjoy!

...

Bruce sat at the Batwing's controls, his face a stony mask. Dick tapped on the armrest of the co-pilot seat while Jason and Roy got a few winks in the back. They were all running on fumes. It took a couple hours, but Dick and Bruce were able to pinpoint the reverse GPS from the fried mercenary's self-destruct button. Bruce was good at that sort of thing, but even he admitted Dick was better and it had taken most of his tricks to get their guy.

"Listen Bruce–"

"Don't." Bruce grumbled. His eyes never leaving the front of the plane or the small red dot showing their destination.

Dick rolled his eyes and continued anyway, "I'm going to say it anyway so just shut up, okay?" Bruce kept looking forward, "I don't know exactly what's happening here, but whoever we're dealing with is good. They've got serious tech capabilities and whatever these freaky strong mercenaries are, they know how to use their super cool new toys. But they also have a bargaining chip, they have Wally and we can't go flying off the handle and charge in this place. We need blueprints and tactical gear and we need to be stealthy...are you even listening to me?"

Bruce didn't say anything, he clicked on the blinking red phone icon on the planes dash, making Dick throw his hands up in defeat, "You're hopeless! And you're going to get Wally killed!"

"Master Bruce?"

Bruce, opened a file on the dash computer, a small loading sign showed the contents beginning to download, "Alfred."

"Did you receive the blueprints I sent you?" The documents popped up on screen, Dick's eyes wide, he shuffled through them. He refused to look over at the Bat.

Bruce didn't smirk, but he wanted to. "Yes, I have them Alfred, thank you."

"No problem, sir. Also, Master Clark told me to tell you he'll meet you at the rendezvous point with the gear you requested. I packed it off and sent it with Masters Clark and John. They should be there around the same time you arrive."

"Thank you Alfred."

"My pleasure, sir. And if I may say so, bring our boy home."

Bruce ended the call, Dick had slouched so far into his seat his feet were on the dash and his arms crossed in a pout. There was a tense silence in the plane, broken by a soft chuckle from the backseat.

"Ha ha. Dickiebird looks like a bitch." Jason chuckled before leaning forward in his seat, a bemused Roy next to him.

"Shut up." Dick glared at Bruce, then turned his attentions to the blueprints Alfred sent.

" I know why you said it." Bruce said softly, "But Wally and I made an agreement when this started. We wouldn't let emotions get in the way of a job even if we were personally involved, and I'm not going to go back on that promise. He'd do the same thing, probably more reluctantly, but he would and you know it." They all nodded, "I'm going to get Wally home safe and I'm going to make sure we do it right."

"Alright, Bruce. We're with you." Jason said, his voice gruff. Dick and Roy nodded in agreement.

"Superman to Batman." Bruce clicked the comm icon in the console, the message came over the loudspeakers in the plane.

"Batman here, you're on speaker Superman." Roy and Jason shared a look and couldn't help the small giggle that escaped.

Dick just rolled his eyes, "Grow up." Jason promptly flicked his ear prompting the Dark Knight to shoot them a chilling glare, they stopped fidgeting and paid attention.

"Batman, we've just arrived to the rendezvous point? How far out are you?"

Bruce clicked a few buttons and flipped a switch causing the plane to descend in altitude. "We're landing the plane now, do you have the equipment I asked Agent A?"

There was a silence on the other end. "Agent A?"

"It's what we call him out in the field Boy Scout." Jason called from the backseat, promptly receiving glare from Batman.

"Oh. Well, yes. Shayera, Green Lantern and I have the bags. J'onn and Wonder Woman should be joining us here soon with the last of it from the tower."

Bruce brought the plane down smoothly, only a few dozen feet from the ground now. "Batman is landing the plane, we'll talk more on the ground Superman. Nightwing out."

Dick flipped the comm off and proceeded to undo his belt as the others did the same. The black plane came to a graceful landing on the field below and the four passengers hopped onto the ground.

"Okay. Now what?" Roy asked, casually leaning against the Batwing, one glare from Batman got him off the vehicle and next to Red Hood.

Batman scanned the blueprints again before addressing the group, still getting his bearings.

"It looks like the GPS signal that we got from the mercenary is coming from a research facility here on the outskirts of Gotham. A lot of tech companies have stretched research facilities out here so the large amount of empty land can be used in an R&D function for larger tech developments like weapons and agriculture. The facility the signal is coming from is under an agriculture grant from the government, thought from what Nightwing was able to decipher, the paperwork is fake."

Dick nodded, pulling up a document on a small tablet. "From what I can tell the basics are covered just enough to avoid any real suspicion. It hasn't been around long so any real inspections will happen later, but I imagine they won't have much to find. I was able to pull some of the outside video feed. A lot of trucks coming in empty and leaving. No idea what could be inside yet."

"From what we could tell when we were looking for Wally the first time, is whoever is behind this is in the market of nano-tech enhancement. Our suspicions were confirmed when Terminator 2.0 croaked on the table, his arm is made of a similar alloyed material Wayne Enterprises was working on for the government in medical technology for limb and organ replacement." Everyone stared at Jason, a look of surprise on a few faces, "What? I'm a Bat, remember? I know what this stuff is."

Dick just shrugged, "How did you know about the alloy? It wasn't public information."

Jason smiled, "Really? You're not the only one who knows how to hack into stuff, Dick."

Batman shot him a look, "Okay, okay. I read it on the Watchtower server while we were looking for Wally."

"Anyway," Bruce pulled up the blueprints, "We need to check the facility to see if Wally is even there before we go in. It may not be legitimate, but I don't want the FBI to roll in because they think we're destroying a government facility."

"So what are we going to do?" Superman asked. Bruce motioned for him to bring the bag in his hands over and Superman tossed it. Bruce unzipped the back and revealed a black suit, similar to Wally's.

"You're going to run through with your x-ray vision." Bruce grinned tossing the suit to Superman.

"Oh!" Dick smacked a palm to his forehead, "The suit!" Bruce gave him a look, asking for explanation, Dick smiled, "It's the invisibility thing right?"

"How did–?"

"Wally walked in on you working on it, he thought it was adorable, but you weren't super subtle asking him to do stress tests once a week." Dick chuckled, the others a little uncomfortable with the small window they'd been given into Bruce and Wally's relationship, but it eased some of the tension. Bruce grumbled and opened the other bags, a few tablets and a belt came out of the bags.

"These tablets will monitor the suits vitals, the sensors will let us know if you are still in stealth mode."

Roy stepped forward, watching as Superman spun into the new suit, his larger form barely fitting into the suit. It was all black except a silver lightning insignia on the front. "Why can't we just send J'onn in, telepath the place?" Roy looked at Batman when he asked.

"Because I need J'onn monitoring the staff and the mercenaries, he'll be our first alarm should someone be tipped off we're there. I don't want anyone killing Flash before we even get a chance to get him out. Other than that, the suit only works at top speed, it's meant for a speedster and Superman is the only one that can reach even a tenth of what Flash can and that should be enough. I made it so Flash could run his slowest, but even that's close to max for Superman."

Superman nodded, pulling up the black cowl on the suit making everyone pause at the resemblance to Flash with the lightning bolts on the side of the mask.

Jason, Roy, and Dick giggled, "Aw. You made it just for Flash–ow!" Jason rubbed his head whee Batman had reach out and smacked him. Bruce glared at the trio and proceeded to give out the assignments. J'onn and Diana landed just as he was about to begin again.

"Batman, here is the item you asked for." Diana handed him the bag, but Bruce set it to the side.

"Hopefuly we won't need it, but it's Flash's emergency stash." Dick nodded, grabbing the bag and putting it on his back.

"Alright, J'onn, I need you to–"

"Open my mind to those in the building. Understood." J'onn floated in the air, his eyes glowing orange.

"It's so creepy when he does that…"

"Jason, focus!" Batman pointed at Superman, ready for hims to run but a shout from J'onn stopped them.

"Wait!" J'onn flew in the direction of the facility, the other heroes running after him but all of them stopped on the ridge overlooking the area.

"Holy crap...what happened?" There was the building.

What was left of it.

...

This is part of a really large chunk of material and I wanted to chunk it up a bit. So on to the next section!

Thanks for reading!


	15. Chapter 15

Yay! Another part! I even have another section after this almost complete *huzzah*

I do not own DC.

Enjoy!

...

"Holy crap...what happened?" Everyone ran down to the facility, what was left of place was burning, dead bodies strewn across the ground like discarded lawn ornaments.

Jason sighed, hands on his hips as he surveyed the landscape, "you know if we had just walked over here we would have seen this soon–"

"Shut up!" At least three heroes had shouted at the now sheepish vigilante.

Bruce took a breath, not wanting his panic to settle in. He walked amongst the wreckage, searching for any survivors or clues to where Wally may be. "J'onn scan for survivors. We have to find Wally."

The heroes spread out, Dick clinging to the emergency bag just in case he needed it. He hoped he did, it would mean his best friend was still alive.

A phone ring sounded in the silence, everyone paused and turned towards the noise.

Bruce ran to the phone, careful to watch for any trip wires or corpses. He found the sound coming from the pocket of a small scientist, his neck was bent at an odd angle suggesting someone had broken it, his beady eyes stared sightlessly to the sky. Bruce rummaged through the pockets and saw the caller ID read _BLOCKED_. He answered it.

"Ah, finally." The sound of that voice made everyone's blood boil.

"Lex?" Superman took a step towards Batman and the phone, his shock evident.

Luthor laughed on the other end, "I see the whole gang is here! Yes, Superman, little old Lex Luthor isn't down for the count. Thought defeating Brainiac would be the end of me? Think again."

"Cut the crap Luthor, I know you have Flash." Batman growled, his fingers tightened on the phone.

"Oh? Do you now? Well, I suppose there's no use in denying it. Yes, I have Flash." There was a small paused before Lex's voice turned cold, "We were becoming reacquainted. Weren't we, Flash?"

Everyone stilled waiting for their friend's voice on the other end, they heard a spitting noise and a loud smack.

"Now, now Flash. It isn't nice to spit on your friends." Another smack and a groan sounded on the other end, everyone started fidgeting and getting more and more nervous. Jason ran over and kicked a trash can in frustration.

"Say hello to your pals, so they know you're alive. Go on."

There was a tense silence and then, "Bats?"

A small amount of tension left the heros, but they weren't ready to let go of it completely. Wally was still in the hands of Lex Luthor.

"Flash." Bruce clenched his fist, the need to comfort and get to Wally nearly overwhelming him. He could hear the pain in his lover's voice.

A small chuckle sounded on the other end. "Okay. Good. Now, remember what we talked about. This is an end game scenario."

Bruce stood still, his blood going cold. "No."

Another small chuckle followed by a rasping cough alerted the others to their friend's pain. Wally sighed into the phone, "Yes, Bats. Endgame."

A commotion sounded on the other end, Bruce's eyes widened, "Flash!"

"You had your proof that he's alive, now surrender peacefully and I'll take what I need and won't kill him."

Bruce could barely control his rage. "Luthor–if you hurt him..."

"You'll what? We've already crossed that bridge, now it's up to you if we kill him. You have about ten seconds to decide. Goodbye." The phone clicked, Bruce threw it at the wall, his rage exiting him in a bellow. Everyone around him echoing similar sentiments.

"Bruce," Dick walked closer to the Dark knight, "What did Wally mean by endgame scenario?"

Bruce swallowed, the lump in his throat growing as he looked around at the worried faces of his team, "I told you Wally and I made an agreement when _we_ started happening that we would keep scenarios involving us professional, but I made him promise me that if I ever got stuck in a scenario where there wasn't a real way out he had to leave me behind or not come for me at all. I called it an endgame scenario. Where the only available endgame is my death, I never expected he'd be the one to flip it back on me."

"Man," Jason huffed, "He must really love you to put up with that bullshit statement." Bruce just glared at his younger son, "What? I mean, you're clearly not going to listen to him, so neither would he."

They all nodded, Bruce took a deep breath, thinking about what Luthor said. "If Luthor is giving us an option he must have mercs on the way here to take us out."

"Well, then. Let's go kick some freaky Terminator ass!" Roy shouted, everyone nodding just as a series of loud booms could be heard in the distance.

They all exited the building watching as at least two dozen mercenaries landed in helicopters. They all filed out, military precision in their operation.

"Wow!" John shouted, "Those guys aren't messing around! I've seen this type of training with Green Berets and SPecial Forces. Wherever Luthor is getting his people, there's no way it's cheap."

Gunshots began to ring and they all sprang into action. Another helicopter full of mercenaries landed creating a small army of bionic warriors against the League members.

Superman tossed a mercenary into two others, a punch catching him off guard and throwing him to the ground. Batman caught a soldier lining up the krytonian with a rifle and tossed the gun at the soldier just as he fired off a shot, the bullet imbedding in the wall above Superman. Superman nodded at Batman, glancing at the bullet hole and stopping in his tracks.

"They have kryptonite bullets!" Bruce stared wide-eyed at the troupe of five men coming at the flying hero, each of them with a machine gun, no way for Superman to avoid fire completely. "Get out of here, Superman!"

The mercenary fighting with Bruce knocked the wind out of him, Dick and Roy were fighting two others while Jason tried shooting his way out of fight with three others. They were outnumbered six to one and with the addition of kryptonite bullets, he wasn't sure they'd get out of this.

Bruce grabbed the guy he was fighting and managed to shove an exploding batarang under his arm, the man screamed, but stood back up. His arm starting to heal as though nothing had happened.

"They took the healing serum!" Batman yelled, "They won't go down unless you knock them out!"

A few grunts and groans could be heard as everyone tried knocking them out. The first to go down was Hawkgirl, she hit the ground hard causing John to immediately go to her aid. J'onn was electrocuted and shortly after, Roy took a bionic arm to the head causing a blackout.

"Batman!" Superman shouted, having successfully avoided a kryptonite bullet after John took the guns away. He sent another mercenary flying into the two fighting with John, giving the former marine a bit of a reprieve. "We need to–" A shot rang out. Superman faltered a moment before falling from the sky his scream of pain echoed around them.

"Superman!" Batman knocked the supersoldier out before running through the craziness to the fallen hero, Jason already had Superman in his arms and was shooting at the oncoming mercenaries.

"He took a slug in the shoulder. It's not a serious wound on it's own, but it's kryptonite so we've just lost our only invincible weapon." He aimed twice and shot two mercenaries behind Bruce in rapid succession, each rubber bullet hitting the mercs in their temples knocking them out.

Bruce gave him a look, "What? Wally wanted me to switch to rubber so I told him I would." Jason paused for breath, watching as Diana and Dick took down two more, but another helicopter landed in the distance. "What are we gonna do, Batman?"

For the first time in a long time, Jason actually sounded vulnerable. It had been a long time since that had happened between the former mentor and protege and Bruce took note, he scanned the area for a way out, but noticed the way the other soldiers started to surround them.

"They're going to ask us to surrender."

Jason, cocked his gun, "What?"

"I don't know what Luthor's endgame is, but obviously we need to be there. Alive." Bruce clenched his jaw, standing up from his fallen friend, putting a batarang in each hand.

A large man with an eye-patch took a step from the large group and raised a hand, all the fighting stopped. Diana tossed the last mercenary on the considerable pile of his unconscious comrades. The leader merely raised an eyebrow and grinned.

"I am impressed Justice League," his accent was thick, sounding like a Slavic language. "My employer send me here to offer again the surrender. He offers this image as incentive."

The mad gesture for a tablet to be handed to Batman, the Dark Knight held back a gasp, hearing Diana mumble "Hera" behind him. On the screen, a video feed showed an unconscious Wally, he was badly beaten, but the most alarming thing was the guns pointed directly at his head.

The leader grinned again, "Do you surrender?"

Bruce glanced around, gaining nods from everyone before turning to the man and nodding. Tossing his batarangs to the ground.

"Good. Now–," Soldier converged on the conscious heroes, securing them in cuffs, and putting the unconscious ones in cuffs as well before carrying them like sacks of wheat.

"–let's take a fieldtrip."

...

This story is taking turns I didn't even know it had. So thanks for coming along for the ride!

Thanks again!


	16. Chapter 16

Hey all! I'm having a bit of a creative streak at the moment, so I imagine most of my stories (in-progress) will have updates soon (6-3-2016).

I do not own DC.

And thanks for reading! Reviews are lovely :)

...

Wally woke up chained to a wall, his knees bent on the cold, hard concrete floor. His vision focused on a drain in the cement floor.

 _Not a good sign_ , he thought.

"Ah, welcome back Flash." Luthor smirked from over in the corner, two guards stood solemnly on either side of a door on the far wall. "I'm amazed your body can handle so much stress, but then again you often have a habit of surprising me."

Luthor waved his hand, dismissing the other two guards, with a quick nod they turned on a dime and made their way out. Wally glared at them as they left, Luthor chuckled at the angry hero's expression.

"What is it you're after, Luthor?" Wally tugged on the chains, but his arms were pulled high behind his back and he couldn't get a grip, not that he really wanted to considering how much pain he was still in, but he wasn't about to grovel on the floor in front of Lex Luthor.

A pair of black dress shoes were right in Wally's vision, a second before one blasted right into his chin, knocking the hero back and making his vision dim.

Luthor grabbed him by the hair, the lack of a mask suddenly alarming Wally as he glared at is captor, fresh blood running down his chin.

"I want to end you." Luthor pulled hard on Wally's hair, making the speedster grit his teeth. Luthor lashed out, his rage funneled into swift kicks and punches, tearing into the hero chained in front of him. "You tore Brainiac from me! You should know how it feels!" Wally lost track of time, he was sure he lost consciousness more than once as Luthor mercilessly beat him, his strength surprised Wally until he saw the glint of steel on Luthor's arm just as it sailed into his ribs.

"I am SO TIRED of the Justice League swooping in and saving the fucking day! I want to win. I want the world to know what a bunch of losers you all are while I sit on a throne of your corpses! I don't care if the world ends in the process, my only goal is to end all of you. And I was so close!" Luthor punched Flash across his already beaten face, blood stained the villain's knuckles, "You ruined everything with your _hero_ routine at the last second! But now–" Luthor paused, pulling a white handkerchief from his suit pocket, a manic glint hard in his eyes. He wiped his hands, throwing the bloodied fabric at Wally's feet, "Your friends WILL watch you die this time, and then I'll kill them one by one until the only one left is the fucking Bat and I'll make sure he dies knowing he was so very alone."

Wally glared at the megalomaniac in front of him, it was all he could do to breath, but he could feel his older injuries from his last session with Dr. Creep and his older injuries cringe as the new beating Luthor had given him flood his body with pain. His vision blurred as he watched Luthor walk out the door, leaving Wally kneeling on the cement floor. The only light came from one window above him. He could tell he was underground, but he had no idea where. No clues but the window and the sky was more orange than blue. Soon he'd be in the dark with no real way out, and right now he felt very alone.

 _I can't let Luthor beat us. He seems unhinged, even for Luthor. He may just get us, but how the Hell is he going to defeat…? The soldiers... duh._ Wally pulled on his manacles, his arms pulled tightly behind him towards the stone wall, his body radiated pain every move he made. _Calm down Wall, you gotta get outta here before everyone else finds you. They'll be playing right into Luthor's game without even knowing it! Damnit!_

Wally slumped on the floor, his pain threshold almost met as his vision blackened and he started fading into unconsciousness.

No WALLACE! _DAMNIT. Pull yourself together!_ Shaking his head furiously, he took a deep breath and looked around the room, his breathing growing ragged as he looked for any clue or way out. He paused, concentrating as he allowed a little of his strength to funnel into healing his body. He'd discovered that little trick while learning yoga with Bruce. He sighed, the pain in his chest and head a dull throb, _It'll have to do for now._

Leaning back he looked at his cuffs, they were literal chains and manacles, nothing high tech or fancy. _Why wouldn't they have put me in better stuff? Do I really come off that dumb or are they just that arrogant?_ Wally chuckled, _I'd vote both._

Leaning further back, he grimaced in pain as he vibrated his arms, the pain almost toppled him into oblivion, but it did the job, his cuffs burst open. He leaned against the wall, spitting red onto the floor.

 _Shit. He busted my ribs again._ Wally pushed from the wall and carefully moved to the door, pressing his ear for any close movement, he couldn't hear anything and he tugged on the handle.

Locked, duh.

He vibrated his hand, blasting the handle off, the door squeaked open. He looked down the hall, a serious sense of deja vu coming over him. It didn't look like the same facility, the walls wherever he was now were lined with rough stone, reminding Wally of a castle dungeon. One last look to his left and right, he scanned the area for any cameras and didn't see any, but he didn't dismiss they might be there. He ran down one hall that led to another, a seemingly endless maze of stone halls until he came to a big metal door, the hinges rusting and a large metal ring for a handle.

 _Man, Luthor really must have some kind of king complex going on._

He pulled on the door, ready for anything, only there was nothing. Just a large empty room. The room was coliseum-like in nature without any seats. It reminded Wally a lot of the training rooms they had on the tower, the ceiling was at least four stories up, the walls smooth with the occasional blacked out glass observation window and one massive window directly in front of him up about nine feet. Wally limped into the center of the room, the sense that escaping his cell may have been too easy creeping up his spine. Looking around he saw four small drains in the cement floor and another large door on the opposite wall. He started towards the door, but didn't make it far.

"Thank you so much for joining us Wally!" Wally's head whipped towards the sound, the larger window now lit with a very pleased Luthor watching him, next to him were six figures, strapped to large X's, each of them in their own observation tube looking very pissed. When they saw Wally they immediately started scrambling, tearing at their restraints and yelling silently at the window.

Wally took a deep shuddering breath, his hand latching onto his broken ribs as he watched his friends behind the glass, "What the Hell, Luthor?!"

Luthor laughed, "Ah yes, they came for you. Much like I thought they would, but they were no match for my soldiers with your quick-healing serum in their blood." Luthor walked over to Superman's tube, tapping on the glass like a deviant at a zoo, "Not even Superman is completely invincible. You're other three friends were a bit of a surprise though." Luthor pointed to another window in the room, this one to Wally's right. Wally looked over just as the room lit up on an unconscious Roy, Jason, and Dick, all tied together in a trio hanging from the ceiling.

Wally's eyes widened in fear, his friends were all strewn up like turkeys and he was barely functioning. He wasn't sure he'd get out this time.

"Luthor! What the Hell! It's me you want, why are you doing all of this? I'm the one who stole Brainiac from you, take me and move on!" Wally screamed as he watched Luthor walk down the row of tubes to stop directly in front of a glaring Batman. If looks could kill this nightmare would be over, but it was real.

And it was terrifying.

"Get away from the glass Luthor." Wally actually growled, Luthor looked surprised for a moment before laughing.

"Oh? Does my proximity to your boyfriend here irritate you?" Wally gulped, his jaw clenched. Luthor smiled and walked back to the window, "Yes, I know about you and the dark, scary bat. Who knew he had it in him?" Luthor paused, a mock look of concern on his face, "I have to say Flash, your choice in men is rather peculiar, but then again who am I to judge." With a wink, Luthor pressed another button and the large door on the opposite wall started to open. "Now, about that whole 'having your friends watch you die' thing I told you about earlier...this would be it." The members of the League looked at each other their efforts to escape doubling when they heard Luthor's declaration.

Wally crouched into battle ready stance, his body shooting with pain, but he grit his teeth and readied himself.

The door stopped, the dark opening, ominous. Wally glanced up at the trio hanging from the ceiling his determination grew and it grew immovable after sending one furtive glance at Bruce, the Dark Knight still struggling in his restraints. He crouched, hand clasping his side, but ready to fight for his and his loved ones' lives.

"Alright, Luthor. Have it your way."

...

YAY VIOLENCE AND FIGHTING AND ANGRY FLASH AND BATMAN! More to come, it's gonna be killer ;)

Have a great day!


	17. Chapter 17

I'm working through some writing kinks. This turned into a story I wasn't expecting, even writer's can surprise themselves. *wink*

I DO NOT own DC.

...

Bruce struggled in his restraints, watching as Wally crouched into a fighting stance. He could tell from here that Wally wouldn't last long and Luthor's declaration that they would watch him die would come true.

"What is the point, Luthor?" Batman growled, his body stilling as he took in his surroundings. He couldn't help but notice the similarities this holding unit had to the ones they had seen while in the alternate reality. The reality that had a dead Flash–a dead Wally. But how would Luthor even know about that part of the universe?

Luthor chuckled, watching as Wally waited for something to happen in the room below. He turned towards Batman, his glee at seeing the world's greatest heroes in his own personal super-aquarium evident in his eyes.

"What is the point?" Luthor walked over to the unit containing Superman, the Kryptonian's strength bare as his shoulder still throbbed. He'd left the bullet in as a precaution. "The point, my dark clad friend, is the end. The end of you." Luthor watched the heroes glare at him through the glass and his gaze hardened, "No more saving the day at the last second, no more Justice League." Luthor walked down a few steps, down towards the observation window.

"I'll start with your mascot here and move on to each of you. I have no need for your interference anymore, Batman." Luthor watched below as three soldiers emerged from the opening, their measured steps bringing them in the arena with Flash.

Bruce looked up at his restraints, his hands wiggling around in the cuffs.

"You won't break out."

Bruce glared at the villain, Luthor smiled, barely turning away from the four combatants on the field. "As you've probably guessed I got these designs from a close friend of yours. Call it a perk of having Brainiac download most of Cadmus' database into my brain. I remember quite a bit of what he took and these lovely containment units were detailed in the reports Cadmus had on your time in the Lord's Universe." He shrugged, "Doubtful that you had any hand in giving that information, but they seem effective enough."

Bruce growled, he knew Flash wasn't here to get them out of it this time. His attention turned to the area below, his view hindered from his place in his tube. He took a breath, steadying himself for the turmoil about to happen below. He watched Wally waiting for the three enemies to make the first move.

Luthor pressed the blue button to his right on a small panel. Leaning closer to the glass he smiled, a sense of dread sweeping through the group as they watched Wally wait for the fight to start.

"Now, let the games begin. Slont, he's all yours." Luthor laughed as the three soldier converged on their target.

...

That was short. I know. I'm sorry.


	18. Chapter 18

Two chapters in one day?! What is this MADNESS?! But, here you go. Hopefully more satisfying than the earlier baby chapter.

I DO NOT OWN DC.

...

Wally rolled his eyes, _Always with the semantics…_ Wally focused on the fighters in front of him, their forms rushing forward.

 _Here we go.._

Wally watched the man Luthor had spoken to, his eyes narrowed as he recognized him from the raid on the laboratory.

Wally smirked, presenting a bow as the man came closer to his personal bubble, "Slont, I presume?" Slont was a hulking man with an eye patch, his black top stretched to capacity around his muscular build. He had a metallic brace around his forearm, the other two goons–he decided to call them Thing 1 and Thing 2–were just as muscular, but a bit smaller with braces along their entire arm. Wally dodged as Slont threw the first punch.

"Hey there, matey!" Wally dodged a fist as it flew at his head from the other side, "Did I miss the Pirate Day memo?"

Slont just narrowed his good eye and lunged for Wally, catching him in the thigh.

Wally let out a groan, he should have avoided that, but he wasn't going to be able to keep this up. His speed was fading and pretty soon he'd barely be able to stand let alone fight off three or more super soldiers.

Wally zipped out of Thing 1's reach and circled the perimeter, causing the three soldiers to spread out to the edges. Wally paused at the second window, his attention on the now awake and struggling trio of Dick, Roy, and Jason. Dick saw Wally's stare just as a look of surprise hit his face contorting in a silent yell, nodding behind him. Wally had just enough time to roll before Thing 2 leapt up where he had been and put a fist into the glass, the smooth surface cracking beneath the pressure. Wally rolled out of the way, dashing past Thing 1, holding his arm out as a bar and knocking the goon on his ass.

Wally grabbed his arm, a sharp pain letting him know he'd just shattered something. He slid to a stop, hitting the wall as Slont rushed at him. Wally slid to the ground just as the super strong hand went into the wall.

"Whoa!" Wally rolled out of the way of another barrage of kicks and punches, looking up in time to see Thing 2 waiting for him, Thing 1 was rolling up onto his feet from Wally's best tree branch impression, his bruises already fading.

Wally kept ducking and jumping out of the way, making his way closer to Thing 2 until he was close enough to dive right into the other soldier's gut. Wally wrapped his arms around the soldier and using his momentum threw him into Slont. The two went tumbling to the ground. Wally zipped to the other side of the arena, watching as the three goons got to their feet, their faces red and veins popping. Wally glanced up at the window where he'd seen Dick, Roy, and Jason struggling earlier. He watched as they twisted around in a circle, an idea hitting him.

"It'll use too much energy..." Wally glanced up, seeing the livid expression on Luthor's face, his eyes darting to see Batman pulling at his restraints. Wally watched the three goons make their way to the center of the arena, "It's the only real choice I have."

Wally readied himself and took off, running circles around the edge of the arena. He ran and ran, as fast as he possibly could until the trio was back to back in a triangle in the middle of the ring-shaped room. Wally stopped, watching the three soldiers shake their head as they steadied themselves against the wind tunnel Wally had created. Wally bent over, his hands on his knees as he steadied himself for the next part of his plan.

Slont watched him, eyes narrowed and his face red as he shouted, "What are you…?"

Wally chuckled, his breathing haggard, "I'm runnin' low on fuel here, cappy..." Head bent, eye fixed on his target Flash ran, stopping a few inches from Slont, the other two caught off guard by his sudden appearance, "But I've got just enough left to end you."

Slont swung, missing Flash by an inch, turning to find him behind him. The other two lunged for Wally, just as he zipped away, causing them to crash into each other. They bounced back, disoriented. Flash ran circles around the trio, running faster and faster until he had about a foot of distance between himself and the three in the middle, the wind picking up around them.

"It's not gonna work unless you go faster, Wallace…" Wally grit his teeth, barreling around and around in a circle a small wind tunnel forming until it reached the ceiling. Wally pushed harder, he could feel his consciousness slipping, but he held firm, pushing faster and faster until Thing 1 and Thing 2 collapsed in a pile on the floor, unconscious.

Slont hung on, his hand grasping at his throat as he felt the oxygen leaving him, but he moved forward, reaching out to grab at the speedster.

Wally grit harder, "Not today, jackass!" With one last revolution, he grabbed Slont by the wrist, crushing the metal brace as he flung the soldier into the wall, the impact sending cracks all the way to the second observation window above him. Wally fell to his knee, one hand propped on his leg, the other propping him off the ground.

He had to finish the fight or die trying.

Wally staggered to his feet, watching Slont do the same, the black eye patch on the ground, giving Wally a good look at the red scar splashed across the man's face.

"What are you waiting for, Slont?" Wally glanced at his three closest friends, their wide-eyes staring at him through the window glass, "Come at me." He smiled, Slont yelled, barreling at Wally as the speedster readied himself for impact, the man was moving fast and Wally was counting on that. The brute lunged, his arm prepped back for a strike, Wally met his hand with his own, grasping the irate man's wrist just as his momentum moved forward and continued in a spin with the man's own momentum as leverage. With a yell, Wally heaved the heavy soldier into the ground, thrusting with all of his own and all of his opponent's momentum into the floor. A huge boom sounded, the floor cracking as Wally moved away. The dust settled and below him Slont lay unconscious in a nice new crater in the cement floor.

Wally struggled to stand, his breathing uneven as he grabbed his ribs, his body was in agony. He'd given too much to that fight and by the angry yell coming from the observation window, he knew he was in for a world of hurt. He fell to his knees, chuckling as he took deep breaths watching Luthor motion angrily to the soldiers in the observation booth with him. They rushed out the door, leaving the villain with the other heroes and another guard. He smiled at Bruce from his position on the floor, looking at his friends and seeing the small smiles on their faces helped him a bit.

"Alright, Luthor." He swallowed, his mouth dry but for the bitter tang of blood in the back of his mouth. "What else ya got?"

Luthor glared down at the broken hero, his anger radiating off of him. "Well done, Flash. You beat my soldiers."

Wally smirked, his eyes catching movement out of the corner of his eye. Roy, Dick, and Jason were missing, their places taken by three of Luthor's goons. Wally coughed, covering up his amusement as he saw the three younger heroes sneak into the observation box, Luthor's attention completely on Flash. The three of them began to fiddle with the controls on the containment units holding his friends.

Struggling with his breath, Wally kept Luthor's attention on him, hoping to buy his three best friends time enough to get the founding members out to take on Luthor's goons.

"What is the point of all this Luthor? I mean c'mon. It can't all be about revenge or _ending us_. You're not that emotional, what really happens when you take us out, ya big baby?" Wally yelled up at him, Luthor's red face and angry retort just what the hero was looking for.

"I'll have an army of self-healing super soldiers at my disposal! I'll do whatever I want when you all are out of the way!" Luthor chuckled, "I'll have to take all the other heroes out too, but it'll be easy–"

Wally raised a hand, the expression on Luthor's face enough to make Wally laugh. "You don't already have an army? I thought–"

Luthor rolled his eyes. "I have enough, Flash. But I will find more. The serum is getting ready for production as we speak." Luthor smiled, eyes bright with a manic glint.

Wally raised his hand a second time.

"What." Luthor spat.

"Ah...There's just one problem with that..."

Luthor stopped, staring down at the speedster, "What problem? I had Dr. Kryvonis iron out all of the problems–"

"Ooooh. I see, he didn't tell you..." Wally smiled, still watching out of the corner of his eye as Dick slowly crawled closer to the control panel on the far side of the room, Roy and Jason dragging another unconscious body out of the room.

Luthor cleared his throat, his hands clasped behind his back, "Stop with the games, I don't know what you're–"

"The serum, once administered kills the recipient. The pros: you heal really fast for about 24-hours. The cons: you die." Wally shrugged, stifling a gasp as his body shouted at him. He watched as Luthor looked at him wide-eyed, a moment before his surprise was replaced with anger.

"I saw the reports, the findings–"

Wally shrugged again, "Probably falsified, I mean, Kryvonis was a real piece of work. I can personally attest to that." He paused, watching Luthor's face turn a deeper shade of red, "In words you seem to understand: it's a shoddy investment. Your army won't actually last long."

Luthor glared at Wally through the glass, "It doesn't matter." His glare quickly replaced by his trademark smirk, "I can always go back and fix whatever is broken."

Wally coughed, blood wetting his lips. He steadied his breath as he silently hoped that whatever Dick, Roy, and Jason had planned, they'd do it.

Fast.

...

Hopefully the next chapter will happen today. It might not, but we'll see.


	19. Chapter 19

This story has taken me on so many twists and turns, even I didn't know exactly how it would end *shriek* But we're getting close to the conclusion, so hang onto your pants!

I do not own DC.

Enjoy!

...

Nightwing worked frantically at the controls, Batman's occasional glare egging him to go faster.

"Are you almost done, _Dick_?" Jason hissed, his latest chokehold victim falling to his feet, his eyes darting fast between Wally, Luthor, and the tubes.

Wally looked bad. Really bad, and they needed to go faster or that small contingent of fighters Luthor had sent for would overwhelm the speedster and then Luthor's declaration would come true.

Then, who knows what would happen.

Dick just rolled his eyes, his glare silencing Jason with a small look towards Luthor, the bald businessman going on and on about his super-serum.

Roy kept watch on the bald man, his attention on Wally as his friend struggled to hold on and distract the crazy man. He glanced over, Wonder Woman finally relaxing after having struggled to get out for the past half hour or so. Bruce had resigned himself to glaring at Dick and checking in on Wally. John and Shayera alternated between glances at each other and their younger brother, who was bleeding all over the fighting arena.

Dick hit the last of the sequence, his memory of the reports Bruce had on file vague, but it was enough to get him through the basics. He glanced over at Superman's tube, the red light flickering out.

Superman looked up, shock on his face as he looked over to where Dick was, a knowing grin lighting his face. Just as he ripped his hand from the machine, eight soldier burst into the fighting area with Wally.

Bruce watched as Dick hit the last of the release commands, the tubes shutting down.

Luthor laughed from the window, still oblivious to the heroes behind him. "As great a show as that just was. You're out of energy." Luthor leaned towards the wall, the eight new fighters slowly forming a circle around the failing speedster. "I doubt you'll prove as effective this time."

Bruce grit his teeth, glaring at Dick, who was now standing at the control panel, to hurry. Just as Wally crouched a second time, waiting for the next fight Bruce felt the cuffs on his hands click, the tube releasing a puff of air as the glass lid popped open on his tube.

Luthor whirled around, his eyes wide as Bruce ran towards the bald villain. Superman shot out from the tube, immediately flying for the glass. Luthor reached over and slammed his hand on the large black button, the door in the arena opening to reveal a dozen more fighters. "Kill him!" He yelled, Bruce's fist connecting with Luthor's jaw just as the soldiers moved in on Flash.

Bruce watched as they converged, cornering Wally. The speedster tried running, but was caught up in a flurry of punches, each grunt of pain making Bruce fear it would be the last. Looking over at Dick and Jason he saw them leaping out the Superman-sized hole in the window and roll into a fighting stance as they went to help their friend. Superman grabbed three of the fighters in a headlock and the other heroes were flying into the arena, the fighters becoming less effective against all of the heroes at once.

Bruce stared down at the bald villain on the floor, the bright look in Luthor's eyes giving a moment's hesitation.

"It's done, Luthor. You've lost."

Luthor shook his head, his actions frantic as he scrambled out the door and down the hall. Batman followed him, running right after Luthor into the fight.

A few of the soldiers started reaching for their guns, Batman looked and saw Jason, shooting his way through the fighting.

"Red Hood! Guns!" Bruce shouted, reaching out to grab Luthor by the shirt collar as two fighter converged on him.

Jason nodded, his aim changing directions at the last minute, blasting the guns out of the mercenaries' hands. Wally had been safely moved away from the fighting, the speedster leaning against the wall while J'onn stood in front of him, keeping most of the super-mercenaries away from the injured hero. Wally winced, his body sliding down the wall as his vision turned grey.

Bruce saw Wally collapse to the floor, momentarily distracted, Luthor swung and socked Bruce square in the jaw. Bruce took a few steps back, releasing his captive. Luthor swung around, grabbing one of his fighters as they passed and ripped gun from his belt.

Bruce leapt out of the way as Luthor sprayed the wall with bullets. Bruce grabbed a super-soldier and threw him in Luthor's direction, but the sanity had left the man, his eyes were manic as he smiled and followed after Batman with the gun, shooting after the black-clad hero.

Jason aimed for Luthor's hands, but was tackled to the ground just as the round left the gun, missing its intended target.

Superman and Wonder Woman fought to keep the other dozen super soldiers away from Flash as they converged on the weak speedster with a single-minded determination: kill.

Dick made his way through the remaining fighters with Roy at his back, both of them now trying to stop Luthor from shooting up Batman.

"I may not win the war! But I can take you out Batman!" Another spray of bullets barely missed Batman, the caped crusader rolling behind an unconscious mercenary on the ground. Luthor grabbed a second gun, spinning around with reckless abandon, not caring that he hit a few of his own fighters.

"We have to get Luthor!" Dick yelled at Jason, Roy nodding as he notched an arrow.

Jason rolled his eyes, "No dip, Birdbrain! What do you think I'm doing over here?" Jason shot an oncoming mercenary, "Dancing the Nutcracker?"

"Just go, Hood!" Dick and Roy yelled, both punching the same mercenary.

"Alright!" Jason grumbled, he looked up to find Shayera and Green Lantern Flying his way, "Beam me up, Scotty!"

GL rolled his eyes, but grabbed Jason's outstretched hands, dropping the hero out of reach, behind Luthor as the crazy man sprayed more bullets.

Green Lantern threw up a shield, the pitter-patter of bullets falling off the glowing green wall. "We've gotta get closer, Batman is running out of bodies for shields."

Shayera looked around, her eyes looking for and finding, "Superman!" The hero whirled, dropping a few more unconscious fighters as he watched Luthor swim around in a frenzy of laughter and bullets.

"What the–" Superman flew in closer, a barrage of the bullets bouncing off his chest just as three more soldiers ran at him all at once, deterring his path.

Wonder Woman lassoed two goons and launched them at the manic Luthor, but the crazy man saw them coming and leapt out of the way, shooting at Batman who was trying to sneak out from behind the pile of Luthor's soldiers.

Luthor leaned down and grabbed another gun, "I will not be defeated." His eyes widened as he saw the remaining heroes converged on his location, their backs turned to what only Batman and he could see.

A lone soldier with a gun to Wally's head, black eye patch firmly in place.

Luthor stopped shooting. Tossing his guns to the ground. "You may want to stop where you are."

Batman ran out from behind the pile, eyes widening at the sight of a gun at Wally's temple. Slont grinned, "Stop. Don't move."

Wally glared at Slont, his eyes rolling as he realized he was again–bait.

Everyone stilled, confusion on their faces until they all turned to look where Luthor was now pointing. A look of sincere satisfaction and joy in his eyes.

"Now, Slont bring him to me." Everyone tensed. Slont grinned as he hoisted the haggard hero onto his feet by the scruff and slammed Wally to his chest, locking the speedster's throat in a headlock, his gun firmly in place. "Do not do anything stupid, even Superman could not stop this bullet."

Slont walked Wally towards Luthor, the trio slowly backing out of the room into the darkened corridor and down the hall.

"What the HELL BATMAN!" Jason shouted, sprinting with Dick and Roy out the door. The others followed quickly, when they found the exit they watched Luthor yell at Slont to get their car ready. Luthor held Wally close to him, his smile sly and wicked.

"Tell me, Batman. Does it bother you more that I have a gun to his head, or that I'm so very–" Luthor leaned in, his nose brushing along Wally's frantic pulse, "– _very_ close?"

Wally jerked from Luthor's touch, receiving a tight squeeze for his efforts.

"Now, we'll be leaving." Luthor put his finger on the trigger, the sight sending a cold spear of dread through everyone watching, "Or I'll take my chances and blow his brains out." He ran a finger down Wally's chin to his clavicle, "It might be worth it just to see the look on Batman's face."

...

I do love putting Flash/Wally in the most dangerous scenarios... Thanks for reading!


	20. Chapter 20

Woo! 20 chapters! Almost there *fist pump*

I DO NOT OWN DC.

...

Wally wriggled in Luthor's grasp. He wasn't sure how he'd ended up in this position.

Again.

One minute he was leaning against the wall, J'onn in front of him and the next Slont had a gun to his temple.

 _I mean seriously, where did this asshole come from? I knocked him out cold._ Wally huffed, his blood boiling when Luthor ran his nose close to his neck, the action making Bruce go stone still.

"Now, we'll be leaving." Wally could see Luthor caress the trigger, "Or I'll take my chances and blow his brains out." He ran a finger down Wally's chin to his clavicle, Wally swallowed, ignoring the impulse to throw up. "It might be worth it just to see the look on Batman's face."

Wally watched as Slont rolled up in a dark humvee, I have about two seconds or I'm royally screwed.

Sending a glance at Bruce, he stared into the mask. Bruce caught his gaze and his shoulders tensed, understanding hitting him as he shook his head slightly. Wally smiled, it was small, but he put all the warmth in his eyes, mouthing the words I love you to the dark hero.

He sighed, This is going to hurt like hell.

Before he could second guess himself, Wally grabbed Luthor's hand, moving the cold steel of the gun barrel to his own abdomen, "Fuck you, Lex."

Lex, struggled, "What the–"

Wally squeezed the trigger, the bullet ripped through him continuing through his body into Luthor's gut.

Luthor screamed, pushing Flash away as the villain fell into a heap on the floor. Lex tossed the gun, frantically grabbing at his wound as though he couldn't believe he could bleed. His hands came away red as blood flooded his crisp white shirt.

The humvee with Slont squealed away, but Superman rushed to grab the escaping vehicle. Tossing it and it's occupant to the side of the road. Slont rolled unconscious out of the jeep.

Everything seemed to slow down, Wally felt the impact of his knees hitting the ground. He watched as his friends rushed to him, their mouths moving, but no sound reached him. He crumpled on the ground, his head fuzzy, his breath barely coming, any energy he had suddenly gone.

He was done.

No more.

Batman made it to his side first, he could feel the rough gauntlets he knew so well caress his face.

He felt cold.

Bruce was pushing on his stomach, the pressure causing a sudden stabbing pain to radiate from his abdomen, things came into focus and sound overwhelmed him as his friends scrambled to adjust the plan. Bruce was growling, "Why the hell would you do that?! You idiot." Bruce pushed on the wound, trying to stop the flow of blood that wet the ground.

Wally laughed, the sound coming out as a cough, "I'm nobody's… bargaining chip."

Bruce just pushed harder, his motions staggered as the crimson stain grew underneath Wally. "We need him beamed up for medical support, now!" Bruce yelled and Green Lantern nodded, relaying the command that they needed an emergency entry to the Watchtower.

Wally coughed, his eyes unwittingly looking over at Luthor, the man was curled in on himself as he grasped at his own bleeding wound, his eyes were wide as he watched his own skin begin to heal.

"Luthor–" Wally whispered, "he's healing."

Bruce looked over at the villain, his gaze cold. "He disregarded the first rule of business, never sample your own product."

Wally grasped Bruce's wrist, his eyes serious. "Take him, Bruce. He has to go too."

Bruce growled, "Why?"

"Because we don't do that." Wally said, voice steady and determined.

Bruce groaned, knowing he'd never hear the end of t if he let the maniac die. "Nightwing! Grab Luthor and let's go! Superman, grab the Batwing with Hood and meet us at the Watchtower."

"Batman!" Green Lantern shouted, his hand up at his ear, "They have a medical team waiting for you. They can't take more than the four of you, the repairs are barely done from the fight earlier."

Bruce looked back down at Wally, the speedster's eyes slowly flickering shut, "Hang on Wally, we're almost there."

Wally nodded, his last thought of Bruce as he faded into unconsciousness.

...

Whoops.

Thanks for reading!


	21. Chapter 21

Small chapter, sorry!

I DO NOT OWN DC.

...

Bruce felt Wally go limp underneath his hands, just as bright light surrounded him. They arrived on the deck and immediately were swarmed by men and women in plain uniforms. Bruce kept pushing on the wound on Wally's abdomen until he saw the warm eyes of Dr. Richards come into his vision.

"Batman?" Dr. Richards reached out to squeeze Bruce's shoulder, the contact bringing the Dark Knight's gaze up to the doctor's. "I'm going to take him, okay?"

Bruce nodded, mouth a grim line as he watched Dr. Richards haul Wally up onto the gurney with three other orderlies. "Alright team, you know what to do!" Richards took a deep breath and pushed the gurney himself, down the hall and out of sight, rattling off orders like the capable doctor he was.

Another bright light flashed by Bruce, an angry Nightwing held an unconscious Luthor by the shirt collar, "Hey! We need assistance for a combatant!"

A few medical personnel ran onto the main deck, these ones clad in black as they were the only ones authorized to take care of enemy combatants. They wheeled Luthor down the hallway, turning the opposite way from where Wally had gone.

"Batman." Dick held out a hand, Bruce realizing for the first time he was still on the ground. He took the hand and stood, his eyes still on where Wally had disappeared. Dick put a comforting hand on Bruce's shoulder, "He'll be okay."

Bruce frowned, walking down the hall towards where Wally was fighting for his life, not saying a word he turned a corner leaving Nightwing alone on deck, a few personnel and heroes continuing with repairs. Roy appeared next to Dick, his face grim as he watched Batman disappear around the corner.

"Do you really think he'll be fine?" Roy whispered, Dick rubbed some of the strain from his face as he followed after his mentor, Roy beside him.

"For all our sakes, I hope so."

Roy nodded, "Good. Because I'm gonna kill him."

Dick managed a small chuckle, slapping Roy on the back, "Me too, brother, me too."

...

Will he be alright? Who knows.


	22. Chapter 22

I DO NOT OWN DC.

...

Hours had passed and there still hadn't been a change in Wally's condition. Bruce stood still, cape surrounding him as he stared at the doors for any sign of movement. Jason had arrived with the Batwing and the rest of the heroes seeing as the transporters were operating as minimum capacity after the Metalmen's raid.

That's what everyone on the watchtower was calling them, apparently Dr. Richards had coined the term and it stuck. The waiting room had been full a few hours ago, the founding members and Roy, Dick, and Jason all perched on the edge of their seats. Finally, Hawkgirl and John had decided to spar to let out their pent up anxiety. Superman and Wonder Woman went to fulfill their shift on the main deck. J'onn squeezed the Dark Knight's shoulder as he flew off to help the Atom and Mr. Fantastic fix the generators for the transporters. Dick and Roy had fallen asleep on the small love seat, their heads together as they dozed.

"He's tough." Jason mumbled from the other end of the waiting area, his eyes on his mentor.

Bruce looked at him briefly, no outward change as he looked back at the doors.

Waiting.

Jason pushed off from the wall, moving to stand next to Bruce. "Listen, you're probably tired." Jason frowned. "Maybe you should try to get some rest? I can come get you if there's a change."

Bruce just continued to stare at the doors, Jason rolled his eyes, "Just a suggestion."

He started to walk back towards the wall he'd been leaning on, "Jason."

The younger man stopped, turning to look at Bruce who was staring at him, "Thanks."

Jason nodded, uncomfortable with the gesture and leaned against the wall, prepared to wait however long he had to.

A small chuckle sounded from the sofa, "Now who's all touchy feely Jaybird?"

Jason rolled his eyes, glaring at is brother grinning on the sofa. "Shut up."

Bruce couldn't help but smirk, rolling his eyes as Dick began to sing "Jason has a heart" until a thump and an "ow" silenced that.

"I'm trying to sleep, bird brains." Roy grumbled, moving to the opposite loveseat, plopping on the thin cushions before promptly snoring.

Jason just shook his head in mock disgust, "How can he even do that?"

Dick shrugged, "Not sure, but it's always been like that." He smiled, "Wally, too."

"He can sleep anywhere." Dick and Jason looked up at Bruce, his head turned towards them. "Seriously. He fell asleep on a train once."

Jason shrugged as he leaned back against the sofa, watching as Bruce made his way to the adjoining chair. "That's not that odd…"

Dick smiled, remembering the event, "Yeah, but he wasn't inside the train. He was on top of it and it was moving."

Jason raised a brow, "Do I even wanna know?"

Bruce shrugged, sitting straight in the chair, "He hadn't eaten enough before he was on duty and after the fight was over he just sort of took a nap." Bruce smirked remembering the frantic phone call about an hour later, "He woke up in a different country."

Dick laughed, "He was so freaked by it he always makes sure he eats double what he thinks he needs so he doesn't crash like that again."

Jason just shook his head, a small smile on his lips as he thought about al the antics he and Wally used to get into. But it didn't last long, his smile fell,"He's going to be okay, right?" Jason looked over at Bruce, Roy piqued at the question and they all looked at the door silently hoping they hadn't heard the last of their friend.

"He's Wally." Bruce answered, "He has to be."

The four heroes settled glumly back into their thoughts, each of them staring at the double doors, hoping beyond hope their friend, their brother, their love wouldn't leave them.

...

Thanks for reading!


	23. Chapter 23

I DO NOT OWN DC.

...

 _Beep._

 _Beep._

 _Beep._

"I need more suction on that bleed, Betty."

"Yes, Doctor."

Dr. Richards worked his hands carefully as he sewed one of the many holes in his patient shut. He felt a cloth wipe away the perspiration that had formed on his brow. It had taken him almost six hours to get Wally stabilized and sewn up, a long time when you considered his patient was the fastest man alive, but considering the hell his body had gone through, his metabolism was temporarily shot. Richards managed to stop the bleeding only to run into a few heart episodes, followed by having to re-break a few bones and set them properly. Not something he ever enjoyed when treating Flash. Eventually, Wally had done a lot himself once they'd gotten fluids in him.

Richards plopped the sutures down on the tray next to him with a metallic clank, grabbing the next set of pliers offered to him by a gloved hand. Glancing around the opening, looking for any abnormalities, he checked Flash's vitals one last time before nodding with satisfaction, "How's our boy look over there, Jenkins?"

Jenkins looked at the doctor, a smile in his eyes as he double checked the readings, "He looks good, boss."

Richard chuckled and nodded in satisfaction, "Okay, team. Prep the patient for closure, he's back." A few whoops and expressions of thanks echoed around the room. Everyone in the room liked Flash, and when he'd come in the first time they'd been just as worried as they had this time around. Richards always enjoyed the successes, but he cautioned his team, "He's not out of the woods yet, gang. But he's the Flash, so who knows." The room chuckled, "I'm leaving him in your capable hands for now. Take him to recovery 2, it's private and I have no doubt he'll have visitors." He finished the last stitch and prepared himself to leave the OR, the nurses readying Flash to roll into recovery.

Walking into the adjoining room, Richards ran through what had occurred in the OR. He knew he'd get a barrage of questions, but after 24 hours in and out of the OR and Medlab units since the Metalmen had surged on this place, he wasn't going to be able to answer them all right away. He'd give them the run down and then get a couple hours of much needed shut eye.

He scrubbed his hands looking up to see Betty holding a few charts in front of him, "Did Superman go through a thorough check up? I heard he got blasted with some Kryptonite while out in the field." Betty nodded, grabbing the charts as Richards signed off each one after reading them.

"What about the rest of them?" Betty nodded, "Batman? He go through check up yet?" Richards already knew the answer.

"Everyone has gone through the standard post-mission check-up except Batman. But even Superman wouldn't make him leave his post outside the OR doors." Betty sighed, grabbing the rest of the charts before handing the last one to Richards.

"I'll talk with him. What's this?" He ran a hand over his cap and grabbed the chart, eyes wide as he read the contents. "Lex Luthor? He injected himself with the serum?"

"Yes, and he took a GSW to the abdomen, like Flash." Richards scanned the charts, everything looking normal except the gunshot wound.

"But he's regenerated his tissue already. If he's taken a sample from the batch our John Doe did–"

Betty nodded, arms crossed around the charts as she started walking out the door. "Then Lex Luthor is going to die on the Watchtower within the next 12 hours."

"And that will be very bad." Richards sighed, he put Luthor's chart under his arm and walked to Wally's bed in the hall, placing the unconscious man's medical chart at the end before waving for the two nurses to roll him to recovery. He smiled as he watched the bed roll around the corner, knowing some of his excitement would waiver after going out the double doors. Knowing Batman and friends were waiting made him almost wish he had taken the job at County General.

 _But what would be the fun in that?_

He took one deep breath and then walked out the doors a smile on his face as he went to tell the heroes Flash's status.

...

Thanks for reading!


	24. Chapter 24

I DO NOT OWN DC.

...

The double doors swung open, a haggard Dr. Richards holding a medical chart greeted the four anxious heroes.

Batman stood, hands clenched at his sides. "Doctor."

Richards clapped a hand on Batman's shoulder, smiling at the brooding hero. "He's going to be fine, Batman."

Bruce let out a breath he hadn't noticed he'd been holding.

Roy and Dick high-fived, Jason grinned.

Richards smiled at the other three and then continued with Batman, "He's in stable condition. I have him labeled as critical, just to be on the cautious side. I'll have his vitals monitored for the next 12-hours every hour or so, once we make it past there then I will be able to confidently say we're out of the woods, but he's tough. He'll be okay. He'll need some serious physical therapy considering the hell it looks like he's been through," Richards paused, "He may also need to talk to someone, considering the nature of the trauma, but with some TLC, he should be right as rain."

Bruce nodded, "Can–"

Richards squeezed Batman's shoulder, letting his hand drop to his chart. "You can see him any time, Batman." Bruce started to walk down the hallway.

"Right after you get your post-mission eval."

Bruce growled, his eyes narrowing at Dr. Richards, the doctor didn't even blanche, he just chuckled.

"Batman. I'll tell Flash." Bruce looked back at Dick, the younger man narrowing his eyes as he, Roy, and Jason all walked towards the recovery bay, the other two snickering at the threat.

Bruce just growled and nodded, "Make it fast."

Richards laughed, leading Batman to the nearest observation room down the hall, "I'll even do it myself. You can be my last patient for the evening."

Bruce let a small smile brush his lips, "Thanks, doctor."

Richards paused, setting down the chart as he pulled on gloves, "My pleasure, Batman."

Not another word was spoken the remaining time, each man lost in his thoughts at the events of the day.

...

Almost there! A couple more chapters and this should say "the end" soon.

Thanks for reading!


	25. Chapter 25

Long time no post, sorry...but here it is, another installment. Not many left.

As always I do not own DC.

...

 _Why does it hurt so much?_

Wally blinked.

 _Ow._

Opening his eyes, they slowly adjusted to the bright light flooding his vision. A sudden flashback to a similar room, bright lights, a man in a white coat cutting into him, the pain lancing through him as he brought down the knife. He gasped for air, the frantic noise of a heart monitor ringing in his ears as he fought to catch his breath.

"Flash!" He felt rough hands on his shoulder, he tried to adjust his vision, but the edges blurred as he tried to catch his breath.

"Wally." Wally felt warm breath by his ear, the comforting sound of Bruce's gravel voice calming him. "Wally, breathe. You're safe. You're on the Watchtower, I've got you."

Wally nodded, swallowing though his mouth was dry as he became aware of his surrounding. He could feel cold air blasting into his nose, so he fought to take it in. Taking deep breaths, he calmed his racing heart to it's normal, faster, rhythm. He saw a worried Dick, Roy, and Jason standing off to the side, ready to call for help should they need to.

Wally plastered a smile on his face, his forehead cool from the sweat that had formed in his panic. He looked around, taking in the hospital room, Bruce straightening, but grabbing a chair to sit close to Wally. Wally grabbed Bruce's gloved hand and squeezed, mostly to reassure himself that he was really there next to Bruce, but also because he could see the rigid set of Bruce's shoulders underneath the black cape.

"I'm good." Wally looked back up to the ceiling, swallowing hard before looking back at his friends and Bruce. "I'm good."

"Are you sure? I could call Richards in here–"

Bruce shook his head, "No, get the doctor on call. Richards is asleep in the conference room and I have a feeling he's going to be out for a while." He said, a pointed look in Jason's direction.

Dick looked surprised, "Really? That's good I suppose. He's been up for most of the last three days, but he was grabbing a coffee when I saw him an hour ago…"

Jason smirked, "I don't think he put in the right kind of sugar."

Roy smacked Jason, hard, on the shoulder, "You DRUGGED the doc?!"

Jason glared at the archer, rubbing his bruising arm, "Hey! I did it for his own good! We can't have Richards keeling over, he's gotta keep Walls alive, alright? Jeez. You act like I kicked a puppy or something…"

Dick just smirked, Wally chuckled as they all focused their attention back on the speedster.

Wally relaxed, his hand still in Bruce's but he loosened his grip. "Can you sit me up?"

Bruce nodded, adjusting the bed, and it's occupant so that Wally was sitting comfortably in the room, he rolled his neck and loosened his shoulders, feeling every twinge of pain in his body as he adjusted in the hospital bed.

He sighed, "Alright. Let me have it."

"Have what?" Jason asked, moving from the doorway to the closest chair, propping his feet on the end of the bed, receiving a glare from Bruce that made him change his mind.

"I've known you all for a long time. You all look ready to jump, so have at it. I know when you guys want to yell at me."

Dick pounced, his hands waving in frustration as he yelled at his friend. "Of all the boneheaded, stupid, rash, STUPID–"

"You already said stupid." Wally quipped, quieting at the death glare he received from four pairs of eyes.

"Yeah, well I think it bears repeating. Wally, you could have died. Then what? We'd be screwed! That's what!" Dick shouted, now standing right next to Wally, the redhead wincing as his best friend continued on his rant, occasionally tuning him out as he watched Roy and Jason nod in agreement over a few things, but most of his attention was on Bruce, who hadn't moved, but his grip on Wally's hand tightened.

"I mean really, Wallace!" Dick was yelling at the air now more than he was at Wally as he paced around the room, arms flailing, "I know you were trying to be a hero, but what you did was completely and utterly unnecessary and idio–"

"Dick." Jason cleared his throat. "As enlightening as your knowledge base of synonyms for 'stupid' is, I think we should leave dark and scary here with Walls." Jason shared a knowing look with Wally, the speedster silently thanking him. "Alone."

Dick just huffed, crossed his arms and stared at Wally for a moment before letting out a sigh and put his hand on Wally's bandaged shoulder. "Fine. But just don't do anything like that again? Okay, Wally?"

Wally just smiled, clasping his friend's hand. "No problem, Dickiebird."

Dick just rolled his eyes, but smiled as the three younger men left the hospital room.

Wally watched them leave, almost reluctant to have the room alone with Bruce. Slowly he turned to look at Bruce, the man silent, but watching him closely.

"Bruce. Before you say anything–" Bruce held up a gloved hand, silencing Wally.

"No. It's my turn and you're going to listen to me." Bruce ground out, his hand falling to his side as he stood from the chair. Bruce removed his cowl, the look in his eyes making Wally nervous.

"What you did was reckless, but I would have done the same thing in your shoes. I understand why you did it, logically you felt it was the best option with your healing abilities under normal circumstances. Luthor had weapons we had trouble beating and you cut off the head of the snake. I understand that." Bruce stated, voice cool, but his eyes told another story altogether. "But illogically, I want to strangle you. I want to toss you in a tower, lock it and throw away the key." His voice was quiet but filled emotion. "I don't care about what the options were, there could have been another one. We could have figured something else out, but you took yourself as the bargaining chip off the table and managed to neutralize the hostile target. I understand as Batman, but as me–as Bruce–I don't ever want to hold you in my arms as you die again."

Wally was dumbfounded, his throat hurt as he listened to Bruce pour out all his anguish. The past few days had been Hell for Wally and Wally knew they had been Hell for Bruce too.

Bruce looked up from the ground, eyes bright with his anger, fear, and love. "Don't ever make me do that again, Wally."

Wally nodded, throat dry as he watched Bruce move closer. Wally grabbed Bruce's gloved hand, holding it close to his chest.

"I can't promise I won't ever be stupid again," Bruce frowned, eyes narrowing into a glare, "But I love you. I will think of something else. I have something to live for Bruce. I won't ever leave that intentionally."

Bruce plopped down into the chair, all the pent up worry and emotions from the day just leaving him knowing Wally was finally safe. Finally home.

Bruce watched Wally's eyelids begin to droop. A small smile escaped his lips before he leaned forward and placed them on Wally's bandaged forehead.

"Rest up. I'll be here when you wake up."

Wally's eyes locked onto Bruce's own, the anxiety in his green gaze sending a sharp pain of concern into Bruce's chest. Bruce reached out, grabbing Wally's hand. Wally squeezed hard.

"Bruce." Wally shut his eyes tight, looking back into Bruce's blue eyes with a more controlled look than a moment before, "You promise? This isn't just a dream?"

Bruce glowered inwardly, wishing like hell he could beat the crap out of the man responsible for Wally being so scared to close his eyes.

"I promise Wally. I will be here when you wake up, this is real."

Wally nodded, letting out a huge sigh, he smiled as he drifted off to sleep, Bruce helping him a bit by pushing the morphine twice so Wally would have some rest.

Leaning back in his chair, Bruce ran a frustrated hand over his masked face, longing to take off the masks and just spend time alone with Wally when one of them wasn't in a hospital bed. His own eyes closed, the soft beeps of the machine lulling him. The chaos of the past 72 hours drained him and he soon stumbled into the darkness after Wally, his thoughts of mischievous smiles and corny jokes, hand still locked with Wally's for his sanity as much as Wally's.

...

Yeah! Thanks for reading!


	26. Chapter 26

Another chapter!

I do not own DC. I do own Dr. Richards.

...

Dr. Richards woke up with a rush, sitting up fast from the small cot in the break room he looked around, his surrounding not immediately known. He rubbed the sleep from his face with both hands and staggered up from the small bed. He walked to the sink, his muscles sore, but he felt somewhat rested.

And thirsty. He had dry mouth.

 _Did someone drug me? Wha_ t the–

"Hey, doc."

Richards turned towards the voice, finding Red Hood leaning against the door jam sans mask, a smirk on the younger man's face.

He turned on the faucet and splashed his face with water, waking himself up before he grabbed a few paper towels and confronted his visitor. "I take it my sugar wasn't Sweet N Low."

Jason pushed away from the door, "It was."

Richards gave him a look.

"That's just not all it was." Jason smiled. Richards just rolled his eyes, a little angry that he'd been drugged.

"I take it you had a good reason?"

Jason shrugged, "Sure, I wanted to make sure you didn't keel over before you fixed up my buddy."

Richards leaned back against the counter, crossing his arms as he smiled casually at a man most people were afraid to be in the same room with. Richards knew better. Looking at the clock he was surprised six hours had gone by. "I was on my way to sleep for a few hours before you so kindly helped me along."

Jason moved back towards the hall, laughing under his breath. "Yeah right, doc. Because coffee is a great way to fall asleep."

Richards smiled, rubbing his sore neck muscles as he watched the vigilante exit the room. He should be more angry, especially considering the trouble they were possibly facing with Luthor's serum problem. But he couldn't help but feel a little grateful, and something else...

Richards shook his thoughts away, grabbing a styrofoam cup, he walked to the coffee machine and started making himself a cup of coffee. Just as he started to pour, a rushing Betty caught his eye.

Betty was out of breath having walked briskly the whole way. Richards, poured a small bit of coffee in the cup, slugging the brown liquid down as fast as he could without burning his throat.

"Flash?"

Betty shook her head, a sudden urgency rushing into Richards' stomach.

"Luthor."

"Yes, doctor. He's coding." Betty said, rushing out the door with Richards hot on her trail.

The doctor tossed to up into the trash bin and ran down the hallway to bring one of the most powerful super villains in the world from the brink of death. The irony of how many of his friends the man had put in his OR and Emergency room was not lost on him, but a patient was a patient regardless of his deeds.

Running into the secure room, he was surprised to see Superman in the corner out of the way of medical personnel.

Jumping into action Richards ignored everything but the problem at hand.

"Okay, grab the crash cart, the patient is flatlining!" He commanded the room, shouting orders and executing action to save Luthor, the man sweating and pale.

He grabbed the paddles from an intern, concentrating he placed them in position on Luthor's chest, "Clear!"

 _Thump._

Nothing.

"Again!" He placed the paddles, "Clear!"

 _Thump._

The heart monitor let out a monotonous beep, the line going dead. Richards swore.

"Damnit, not today you ass!" Everyone in the room looked a bit surprised, but stayed steady, ready to act.

Richards placed the paddles one last time, "Give me a little more juice! Clear!"

 _Thump._

A moment, then...

 _Beep. Beep. Beep._

Richard's let out a sigh, relief flooding him as he saw the line spike up and down. Signs of life back in the man on the bed, the doctor almost forgetting for a moment he just saved a super villain. He handed the paddles back to a nurse, thanking her as he removed his gloves and looked down at Luthor with a small chuckle.

"It seems you do actually have a semblance of a heart, Mr. Luthor." Looking over at Superman, he saw the caped hero looking concerned.

Tossing the gloves in a nearby bin he grabbed Luthor's chart and rattled off a few directives for the nurses to follow and motioned for Superman to follow him out into the hall.

Superman followed, his brows creased in worry. "Is it the gunshot wound?"

Richards stopped a few yards away from the doorway, his voice quiet. "Unfortunately, no. I'd know how to treat a gunshot wound, but the gunshot wound has completely healed."

Superman's eyes widened, understanding in his eyes. "The serum."

Richards nodded, "The tox screen we ran on Luthor when he got here showed conclusive evidence he has a similar component that our John Doe did earlier. And as we know, things didn't end well for our friend."

Superman let out a groan, "What can we do?"

Richards crossed his arms, thinking as he spoke. "I'm going to run a few tests on our guest and see if we _can_ do anything." Richards looked through the observation window at the unconscious criminal. "But with the scientist who made the concoction dead, I don't have any ideas except to base them off of his original subject..."

"You mean…"

Richards nodded, "Regrettably yes, I mean I'm going to have to ask Flash about it."

Superman frowned, shoulders slumping a bit. "Do you think he's up for it?"

"I don't really have any other choice. It's either that or let Luthor die on the Justice League's watch and as much of a pain as he is, we all know that isn't what you do." Richards rubbed his forehead, trying to rid himself of the headache slowly forming. Looking back at Superman, he took a deep breath, "And I'm a doctor. I took an oath and everything."

Superman grimaced, "Batman is going to be mad."

Richards sighed and began to walk down the long hall to Flash's room. "I know." Waving his hands in the air he walked away from the hero, "Be sure to say nice things about me at my funeral."

Superman smiled, "Doctor."

Richards paused, turning back to look at Superman.

"It's _we_. Not _you_. You're as much a part of the Justice League as I am." Superman said softly, eyes serious.

Richards was a little startled by the statement, but nodded and smiled back at the legend in front of him. He paused a moment looking like he would say something, but turned and walked down the hallway instead.

Superman just smiled and shook his head, watching a brave doctor walk to his almost certain doom.

...

I like my character, so sue me. (But please don't because I'm poor.)

As always, thanks for reading.


	27. Chapter 27

Yay! 27 chapters down, only a couple more to go. Almost wrapped up with this story.

I do not own DC.

Thanks for reading!

...

Doctor Richards was a smart man.

He'd graduated top of his class at medical school.

He'd been published.

Hell, he was the Head Physician and Trauma Surgeon for the Justice League.

So why he thought walking into Flash's hospital room, a looming Bat by his side, to ask him to relive and talk about one of the most terrible experiences of his life to save the life of a super villain–who (pretty much) everyone hated–was a good idea, he had no clue.

Walking down the hall, he muttered to himself, some of it trying to come up with the best approach to the subject, the rest random regrets he had about his life and the choice he was making. The heroes passing him gave him looks of concern, some ignoring it as usual behavior on the floating station. He made it to the door, his hand raised to knock when it swung open, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Arsenal all laughing as they headed out of their friend's room.

They all smiled at him, oh how he knew that might change.

"Hey, Doc! No hard feelings, right?" Arsenal said, a smirk on his face as he glanced at Jason. The other hero looking a little sheepish, but saying nothing as he walked towards the cafeteria.

"No, no hard feelings." He laughed, watching Red Hood out of the corner of his eye, but ignoring it for now. He glanced at Nightwing who seemed to catch the small exchange, but said nothing. The two younger heroes waved and walked down the hall after their friend.

Dr. Richards stalled for a moment glancing back in the room to see Flash alone. He let out a breath.

"Hey, Flash. How's my favorite patient?" Richards plastered on a smile, grabbing the hero's chart and checking the latest progress.

Flash chuckled, "You say that to all your patients, doc."

Richards smirked, placing the chart back, before sliding over to the medicine cabinet and administering the next dose of meds for Flash, but avoiding the pain killers for the moment. He needed Flash clearheaded for the moment.

He grabbed the rolling stool by the cabinet and tossed the syringes away. Flash smiled at him, making Dr. Richards feel worse.

"What's up, doc?"

Richards smiled, but didn't have much heart in it. He glanced around the room, he heard Flash chuckle.

"He's not here. Superman called him in for a meeting about something."

Richards made a note to thank the hero later. He cleared his throat and rolled close to the bed, "Listen, Flash. What I'm about to ask you isn't going to be very pleasant, but it's important. I wouldn't dream of asking if it wasn't–"

Flash bit his lip, his hands fists in the sheet on the small bed. "It's about what I remembered, isn't it."

Richards nodded. "I need to know what they gave you to counteract your healing powers. The amount of damage you sustained couldn't have happened otherwise."

"Because Luthor took the serum and it's in his system because I shot him." Flash said, voice flat of emotion as he looked as his hands.

Richards stalled on the last bit of information, but moved on. "Yes. The serum activated in his bloodstream and now he's going to end up like the mercenary who was here earlier."

Wally frowned, "He'll die."

Richards nodded.

"But he can't die up here." Wally struggled to sit up, his voice rising in a panic. Richards pushed him back on the bed, his hand grasping for the morphine drip, enough to calm the speedster down, but Wally kept talking, though in calmer voice.

"Not only do we not allow it, if we can help it, it would be catastrophic for us. No one would believe we hadn't killed him on purpose, there'd be chaos and the fragile bit of peace we have with the government would shatter!" Wally tried to sit up again, but Richards shoved him back, a little more forcefully this time causing the speedster to wince.

"I know, Flash. That's why I need you to tell me what happened when they hurt you." Richards frowned, his guilt eating at him. "You don't need to go into detail, just tell me what happened if they got too rough, or they tried to get you to generate your hormone or adrenaline levels."

Wally frowned, the little bit of morphine already starting to wear off. He took a deep breath and thought back, he looked up at Richard a thought hitting him. "Running."

"What?"

Flash adjusted his bed as he spoke, sitting up closer so he could explain. "When Dr. Freak Show wanted my metabolism to kick up a notch, he'd jab a needle of adrenaline in my thigh and dangle me from the hook, telling me to run my feet in the air."

Richards looked as if he;d just made a grand discovery, "Of course! He literally sped up your metabolism."

Wally nodded, but frowned. "It became less effective as time wore on, though. As my calories waned, so did my healing. He'd gone too far in one of the–" Wally swallowed, his voice going quiet.

Richards leaned forward, hand on the speedsters trembling hand. "I'm sorry, Flash. Like I said, I wouldn't ask if I didn't–"

Flash smiled, "I know, doc." He patted the doctor's hand to let him know he really did understand. "Anyway, he went too far once. And one of his research assistants, when he had them in the room, felt bad and loosened the bindings to give me some form of sugar. That's when I escaped and tumbled through the window." Wally stopped, his voice fading as his breath quickened.

Richards could see the signs of distress, and nodded, hitting the nurses button. "Thank you, Flash. I know that was difficult, but you did excellent." Richards smiled reassuringly at the speedster even though the heart monitor was going crazy. Flash tried to maintain his dignity and Richards played along. He saw the nurse assigned to this shift with Flash enter the room and he whispered for her to give Flash a sedative. He heard Flash give a half-hearted refusal, but the nurse coaxed Flash down from his panic a bit and pushed the sedative in the IV.

Richards frowned as he walked down the hall, realizing what he;d learned from his short conversation. The only way they were probably going to be able to save Luthor was by somehow giving the megalomania superspeed long enough for the serum to run it's course, while maintaining his metabolism at the height Flash needed when he recovered in the medwing. And from experience, Richards knew that was no small amount.

They were screwed, and so was Luthor.

...

Onwards and upwards, friends!


	28. Chapter 28

Here we go 28, here we go!

I do not own DC.

And as always, thanks for reading!

...

Wally's head thumped back against the pillow. He let out a breath and counted, slowly regaining his composure. He could feel the panic rising, his heart monitor loud in his ears, everything else seeming silent.

 _You're fine. Everything's okay. He came and he got you and the man who did this to you is dead. You saw it with your own eyes Wally. You're fine. Everything's okay…_

He continued the mantra, the beeping slowly returning to his normal, erratic rhythm. He reached for his water cup, hand shaking and wet his dry lips.

He knew the road back from whatever path to hell he'd been on was going to be hard. He just hadn't imagined talking the little bit he had with Dr. Richards would seem like such an undertaking. He gulped down the rest of the tepid liquid and looked around the room, looking for more water. He saw the pitcher on the rolling tray at the foot of his bed and huffed, pushing up into a sitting position so he could grab.

A lance of pain through his body stopped him, his fingers fumbled for the nurse call button.

A trim, and fit brunette came through the door, her stance ready for action as her worried eyes glanced for any emergency problems before Wally smiled at her. She smiled back, her blue eyes sparkling. His smile had always been contagious.

"What can I do for you, Flash?" She asked, hands on her stethoscope, rocking on the balls of her feet. A fidgeter.

Wally smiled, glancing at her name tag, "Hi, Kate, is it?"

She smiled a nodded, "Yes, sir."

He chuckled, the small rumble causing a twinge in his ribs. "You can drop the, sir. Could you get me some water please?"

"Sure thing, sir." Wally rolled his eyes. She walked to the end of the bed, pouring him another glass and sliding the tray closer. "There, so you can pour more if you'd like."

"Thanks, Kate."

She smiled, "Anything else?" She glanced at her watch, "The doctor on call should be in soon to administer your next round of medications in about a half hour."

She walked to the end of the bed, lifting the chart, jotting a few things before checking his vitals and recording those.

Wally sat patiently, knowing it was going to be like this for a while and he might as well get used to it now. Patience was never a virtue he had.

He varied between watching Kate hustle around, making adjustments here and there, and staring at the ceiling. There wasn't a TV in this room, mostly because he was still in the Intensive Care Area so televisions weren't often used here, but now he getting bored.

He started tapping his hand on the mattress, Kate quirked a brow and looked up as she finished her chart, setting it back in it's holder on the end of the bed.

"Okay, Flash, you're all set!" She said, washing her hands. "Anything else I can do for you?"

Wally smiled, his fingers now moving so fast on the bed he was vibrating. In the back of his mind, something sparked. He just couldn't grab on. Shaking his head, he stilled his hands. "Could you find Dr. Richards for me? When he gets a chance I'd like to speak with him."

She nodded, leaving the way she came. "Careful not to overwork your nerves there, Flash."

He looked at her, puzzled. She just nodded at his hands, his hands drumming against the sheets, "You'll burn a hole through your mattress."

She chuckled, but stopped when his face looked like he'd just been doused in cold water.

"Flash?"

He jolted upright, his legs swinging off the bed, his face scrunched in pain as he furiously latched his IV drip to the rolling stand.

"Flash!" She shouted, running to his side to try and get him back into the hospital bed, "What–"

He brushed past, her smiling apologetically, but his eyes were determined. "Sorry, Kate. I gotta go, please get word to Superman and Batman to meet me in the prisoner wing, immediately."

She floundered, not really knowing what to do, but followed after him anyway, wanting to make sure he didn't worsen his injuries. Quickly, she told the head nurse to tell Superman and Batman what Flash had just told her, but she ran to keep up with the injured speedster.

She jogged next to him, his brows rose as he saw her keep a steady pace. She just chuckled, "I run marathons...this is easy enough."

He just snorted back and continued down the hall.

She shrugged, picking up her pace when Flash hustled further along the hall, "Besides, I don't relish being torn to shreds by the line of people that would come knocking on my door if they found out I let you walk around here all by yourself."

He chuckled as they walked into the secondary medical wing, this one had three times the amount of guards and heroes milling around. He looked around, his eyes searching and eventually finding his target.

His face fell, settling in a grim line. He glanced over at Kate, who was paging the good doctor, "You need to stay here. I'm not about to give him any opportunities."

She clipped her pager back on her belt and glanced at him, puzzled. She finally looked to where his eyes had settled and paled. "If you think I'm going to let you in there, you're out of your mind!"

Wally just smirked, his eyes twinkling as he zipped out of her reach and past the other heroes in the area before they could even think of stopping him. He closed the door behind him, locking it and shouting at Kate to make sure Batman and Dr. Richards knew where he was.

Sputtering, Kate ran down the hall, frantic in her search for Dr. Richards or Batman, anyone who would talk some sense into Flash.

Flash turned from the window, carefully waddled over to a chair against the far wall and slid the metal against the floor. The sleeping patient in the bed groaned. Cold eyes fluttered open and formed into slits.

Wally watched him cautiously, "Lex."

Luthor coughed, his mouth curving into a dead smile as he adjusted his bed into a sitting position. "Flash."

Wally leaned back, biting back a groan, trying to look as calm and collected as he possibly could. He knew what he had to do was going to piss just about everyone off, except maybe Luthor, and it could end badly.

Very badly.

"So," He said casually, the bald villain shooting him a glare, "I hear you're in a bit of a predicament."

Luthor let out a snort, "Hardly what I would call a predicament."

Wally crossed his arms, the flurry of activity and gawking stares outside the window occasionally catching his eye. Luthor looked to his left, seeing the chaos outside his door and raised his brow to Flash sitting in the chair.

"Seems _you_ may have caused quite a predicament." He drawled.

Wally shrugged, trying not to think about the morphine drip he'd told Dr. Richards he didn't want during the day.

He was regretting that decision.

"I usually do." He smirked, eyeing the bandage around the criminal's waist, "But you know that already."

Luthor frowned, but it was quickly replaced by an odd look in the villain's eyes. Luthor leaned back against the pillow on the bed, Wally noticing for the first time the sweat on his brow and hollowed look in his face.

Luthor didn't look good.

"I must admit," Luthor said softly, "I did not expect you to shoot yourself to shoot me. It wasn't even remotely on my list of top possibilities."

Wally smirked, "I like to surprise people."

"It seems that way, doesn't it." Luthor gestured to the heroes trying to get in outside. "Why is the door shut?"

Wally looked resigned. "Because."

Luthor rolled his eyes, his exhaustion clearly leaving no room for patience in the evildoer's head. Luthor trained his calculating gaze on Wally, his eyes assessing the clear devastation the past week or so under his "care" had done to the hero.

"You wouldn't die."

Wally stilled, his eyes wide.

Luthor softened, his face revealing a little behind the mask just long enough for Wally to see he was exhausted, too. Luthor seemed almost lost, his head shaking as he stared at his adversary.

"I didn't understand that." He paused, glancing over at his heart monitor before some of his indifference crept back into his demeanor. "I never told Dr. Kryvonis to do the things he did."

Wally glared, "You never told him to stop."

"True," Luthor shrugged, but the smirk didn't reach his eyes. Slowly it faded, his face serious when he looked back at Wally, "But you never died. And I didn't understand how you could last through all of it and make it to this point. Even when you shot me I had to give you some credit for it."

Wally's mouth fell open, his chest sore from the lack of air in his lungs. "What?"

Luthor sneered, rolling his eyes, "Oh don't look so surprised. I know when I've been outmaneuvered, it is rare, but I recognize it. Though not always out loud." Luthor glanced at the door again, people were waiting for Batman and Co. to arrive before they did anything. "So, how did you shut them out?"

Wally snapped his mouth closed, biting back, "I'm clever."

"Why?" When Wally didn't answer, Luthor huffed, "Fine. Hold your secrets."

Wally just gave him a 'well-duh" expression, making the villain squirm in the hospital bed.

Suddenly a commotion caught the speedster's attention. Wally moved forward in his seat, he couldn't stop the small wince on his face as he sat up in the chair. His eyes found Luthor's, the villain already preparing his egomaniacal facade, "Lex."

Luthor's eyes slid to Flash's, turning cold at the use of his first name in such a familiar way.

"I'm trying to save your life. That's why I came here like this, so you better fucking behave yourself or I swear to God, you will die. You will die because you were stupid and you know it." Wally spoke harshly, leaving no room for argument. He remained steady, waiting for Luthor's rebuttal, but it never came. Instead the villain relented, nodding slightly before turning his false bravado towards Superman, Dr. Richards, and Batman.

Wally took a calming breath, knowing he was hurtling into another battle. One he was determined to win.

...

Thanks!


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29, here we go!

I do not own DC.

Really. Thank you for reading!

...

Batman stormed into the space, his anger radiating off him in waves. Richards and Superman followed right behind him. Each of them frowning for a different reason, but all equally worried Wally had put himself in harm's way.

"Flash."

"Batman."

Richards cleared his throat, knowing this would likely head for a heated argument if he or Superman didn't initiate the conversation.

"So," He said, a little awkwardly, everyone suddenly turning to look at the doctor. "Flash, what brings you to Luthor's room today?"

Wally smiled at the doc's attempt at defusing the situation and winked at him, ignoring his brooding boyfriend for a moment.

"I know how we can get the serum through Luthor without it killing him."

Superman and Bruce shot a look at each other, Wally saw it, knowing then his suspicions were confirmed. "But, I'm guessing one or the both of you have already thought this up and didn't want me to be involved." He leaned back in his chair, a playful smile on his face but his eyes deadly serious. "So, I involved myself."

"Flash–" Superman took a step forward, his voice cool and calming, the voice Wally recognized from hundreds of intergalactic negotiations.

Wally held up a hand, halting the Kryptonian in his tracks, "No, Supes, you know it's the only way he'll live in time."

Luthor cleared his throat, the four Leaguers seeming to remember he was still present, "I'm missing something, and as I am the one dying I feel I should know what you're going to do to me."

Wally smirked, letting Batman lead the way with the wave of a hand. Batman growled, turning to face Luthor.

"You're human metabolism isn't fast enough to handle the healing properties of the serum. It's why all your first wave of test subjects failed." Batman ground out, his eyes occasionally darting over to Wally in the chair.

Luthor's eyes lit up, his gaze turning to the lounging speedster in the chair, "So you're going to make me faster." Luthor chuckled, a sudden look of discovery hitting him. He looked at Flash, "How?"

"By making you a speedster, or at least a partial one and very temporarily." Wall said, nonchalantly, his eyes looking to Dr. Richards who was frowning and then to Superman and Batman who both looked uncomfortable.

Luthor looked around the room, noticing the shuffles and the glances, "This has been the only option the whole time, hasn't it?"

Batman glared daggers at the criminal, Superman and Richards just shared a look before nodding.

Wally grimaced, but didn't say anything. Instead, Luthor looked at Wally a long while before staring right at Batman, "I suppose I deserved no less."

They all looked a bit surprised at the announcement, but kept their thoughts to themselves, the only one looking inclined to nod being Batman.

Dr. Richards stepped forward, the sudden lull in conversation making him want this whole thing to go by faster.

"Okay, Mr. Luthor. My name is Dr. Richards and I have been the physician treating you while you've been here." Richards paused a moment when Luthor smiled and nodded in deference to the doctor.

"Thank you, doctor. My care seems adequate." Luthor purred.

Dr. Richards didn't really know how to deal with that. "Right, well…" No one spoke so he trudged onwards, "Flash here will help you gain enough speed in your body to operate at a certain speed so your body jolts into a state that the serum reacts in accordance to how it would naturally in someone like the Flash."

Luthor raised a manicured brow, "Jolts?"

Wally grimaced, Richards just nodded while Batman had a ghost of a smile on his face.

"Yes, Mr. Luthor. Your body will be given a lot change and a lot to handle in a small amount of time, so chances for shock are very high."

Superman cleared his throat, "Pretty much unavoidable."

Luthor smiled sarcastically, "Thank you, Superman."

Wally rolled his eyes and motioned for Richards to continue. Richards nodded, "Um...where was I…?"

"Shock." Batman noted.

"Oh right! Body into shock." Richards started pacing, something Wally had seen many times when the doctor got into his professional mode, he paced a lot. "So, because you'll receive a jolt of energy from Flash, enabling your body to move faster, you will literally only have enough energy to flush the serum through, effectively healing any injuries and then your body will be back to normal."

Wally paused, his brow furrowed for a just a moment before turning to Batman, but the Bat just shook his head and looked back at Luthor. Wally blew out a sigh and continued listening to Richards drone on and on about the chemical changes and blah, blah, blah.

Luthor was on board, knowing he really didn't have much of a choice. It was either this or die. Steeling himself, Richards went about setting up the necessary equipment, medical necessities, and brought in the trauma team and a few of the League's enforcers, just to make damn sure Luthor didn't get any ideas.

Wally grimaced as Superman and Batman helped him from the chair and escorted him out of the room–both careful to help him keep a bit of his pride. His body hurt too much to care.

"Thanks, Supes," Wally grimaced when he saw Kate enter the room, her smack to the back of his head was soft, but he knew that was mostly because he was still dealing with a concussion. She inserted an IV in his arm, swift and efficient, and nudged a flustered Superman from the tension filled room.

Bruce growled, leaning against the closed door. Wally had pointedly ignored his heated gaze while Kate was fussing around the room, Superman had felt so uncomfortable he hadn't really known what to do until Kate made his exit for him.

Deciding he couldn't escape not that his IV was hooked in, Wally finally looked up at Batman, his lover's gaze intense as he shifted on the small observation table.

"Listen," he whispered, "Bruce, I–"

He couldn't say anymore, his mouth suddenly occupied. Bruce's mouth crushed onto Wally's own, the grunts and groans they each made as they devoured one another, making them frenzied. They each played with their tongues, not caring as their teeth gnashed together.

Wally grasped Bruce's gauntleted wrist, resting his forehead against Bruce's, their ragged breath keeping them steady, grounded in one another.

Bruce growled, low and guttural in his chest, making Wally purr. Bruce shuddered at the sound, "Don't do that again."

Wally waited, not knowing exactly where the conversation was headed, but prepared to argue his position.

"Please." Bruce whispered, his voice filled with emotion he wasn't sure Bruce was aware of.

Wally stared up at Batman's masked face, running a finger along his exposed jaw. He hesitated, but he knew he had to ask. "Would you have stopped me?"

Bruce swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry as he spoke. "No. I would have gone with you."

Wally gaped, his eyes searching for some sign of apathy, some sign that Bruce was lying to him. "You mean that." He said wondrously, finding nothing but calm and determination in Bruce's face.

Bruce groaned, but nodded as his forehead dropped onto Wally's better shoulder. "What am I going to do with you Wally?"

There would have been a time in their relationship that the question would have thrown Wally in a pit of self-doubt, but now after all of this, he knew. He knew Bruce was adjusting to things he couldn't control.

Quite a step for the control-needy bat.

Bruce lifted his head and placed another deep kiss on Wally's waiting mouth, until the speedster suddenly pulled away.

Wally could see confusion leaking onto the caped hero's eyes, "I'm getting...excited." He said, face heating underneath the blue eyes he knew were under the mask.

Bruce chuckled, smiling smugly as he adjusted his cowl and made sure Wally was comfortable before going to make sure things were running smoothly. Wally fidgeted on the table, eyes on Bruce.

"Are you going to try and talk me out of it?"

Bruce stilled, eyes on Wally. "You're sure you're up to it?"

Wally nodded.

Bruce's mouth flattened in a grim line, but he stifled his instinctual growl, "Then no, but you can bet I will be doing everything in my power to make sure nothing happens to you."

Wally smiled, "You and everyone else in that room."

Wally could tell Bruce's brows were wrinkled beneath the mask. He curled a finger at the brooding bat, Bruce stepping between Wally's dangling legs.

"I trust you, Bruce." He whispered, pulling Bruce's mouth to his for a soft kiss. "I trust you with everything that I have, with my life and with my heart. I'm not going to risk anything if it's unnecessary, but I need to do this and you know that."

Bruce groaned, eyes serious as he whispered, "I don't want to come this close and have it all taken away because Luthor couldn't keep his hands off his own product."

Wally shrugged, eyes intent, "But I gotta try."

"I know." Bruce said, his mouth curved in a small smile. "One of the reasons I love you, but it infuriates me."

Wally laughed, wincing when it twinged his sore ribs.

Bruce bit back his knee-jerk reaction to toss him over his shoulder and take Wally far away, and eased out of Wally's embrace.

"Speaking of infuriating," Wally said casually, "Where are Roy, Jason, and Dick?"

Bruce actually snorted, "I locked them in the game lounge."

"Why?"

Bruce smirked, arms crossed. "Because when they heard you had gone AWOL from your hospital room, Dick and Roy had to keep Jason from hauling off to kick people's teeth in for answers. When I told them you showed up in Luthor's room, I had to toss all three of them back in the room and lock it so all three of them wouldn't run off and kill him."

Wally choked, "Oh."

Bruce shook his head, images of a red-faced Jason being tackled to the floor running through his head.

"Well, I'm sure they've calmed down by now…" Wally insisted.

Bruce frowned, "And when I tell them you plan on siphoning some of your powers to one of the cruelest criminal masterminds in the world? One who is personally responsible for the kidnapping and torture of their best friend."

Wally shifted uncomfortably knowing exactly how that would go.

"Maybe we should leave them in there…"

Bruce rolled his eyes, opening the door to find three hands poised and ready to bang open the door if necessary.

Wally paled, suddenly feeling very exposed in his hospital scrubs and Flash mask.

Bruce smirked, "Why don't you explain it to them yourself?"

Wally glared daggers at his retreating boyfriend as his three best friends converged on him in the space, each of them with a serious expression.

He cleared his throat, each of them now standing a foot away, crossed arms and faces set in 'don't mess with us' looks.

"Guys."

"Wallace." They said in unison.

 _Oh boy._ He thought, rolling his eyes as he let out an exasperated sigh. "Why are you guys grilling me? I'm older than two of you, and Roy–" He plucked the other redhead in the chest, "–you have no ground to stand on when it comes to doing stupid things. You and I are the reason for most of the rules in this place. An you two–" He pointed at the two brooding Bats, "I don't have enough time in the week to explain how much you guys can't talk about going off and doing something stupid."

All three heroes had the sense to look a little less tense, glancing at each other before turning their worried attention to Wally on the table.

"Guys," Wally grinned, "I made a point to include myself so they–and you–wouldn't get the chance to waste time finding some farfetched alternative. This is how it has to be, so you have to live with it."

Jason was the first to move, his muscled arms wrapping Wally in a hug, "We know, Walls. We just hate it when you pull stunts like this." Wally patted Jason on the shoulder a knowing smirk on his face as the vigilante pulled away, his face flushed.

Dick's brow furrowed, an expression Wally had seen a thousand times, not just on his face.

"We'll support you. We just want in on it."

Roy nodded, all three of them settling into a calmer attitude.

Wally just shook his head and smiled, knowing crisis was averted. Barely.

Things had been bad, and it always seems to get worse before things are all said and done. But he looked at his three best friends, he could still feel the remnants of his kiss with his love and grinned, big and wide.

"You guys have my back," Wally said, patting Roy Jason on the shoulder, "It's going to be just fine."

...


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30! Woooo! Wow. I never thought it would be this long, so thank you to those of you who have read until now, thanks all! This fic has about another two chapters (three if I want some fluff) and then it is finished. *sob*

I do not own DC.

And again, thanks for reading! Feel free to review and leave comments!

...

"This sucks."

Wally watched as Richards replaced his empty IV with another huge bag of fluids. Groaning he leaned back on the table, he'd been sucking fluids into his body via tiny needle for about an hour, the usual time it took was usually about 20 minutes for him to take in all the usual calorie cocktail he needed. But seeing how he was about to expound an enormous amount of energy, Dr. Richards wasn't taking any chances.

"I have to use the bathroom." Wally whined, "Again."

This was his fourth trip in the last half hour, it was driving him insane and slowly but surely they got closer to when he was going to let a super villain experience his powers for a moment. Sure, it was so he could survive, but Wally didn't really like the thought of that intimacy. Especially with Luthor. He may not want the guy to die, but he still hated his guts for the whole thing.

He zipped into the attached bathroom and did his business, washed his hands and came back, dutifully holding out his arm so Richards could attach the IV.

"How many more of these things am I gonna have to do here doc?"

Richards glanced up at the speedster, having just thrown away the wrappings and used gauze. "This is the last bag. They're prepping Luthor in the largest containment unit. That way we can have a few extra people to come in as help if something goes…wonky." Realizing he was probably making the speedster nervous, Richards cleared his throat and proceeded out the door.

Wally frowned, watching the liquid drain out into the IV, it felt cold, not as weird as it had at the beginning, but still weird. He'd had to tell Bruce, Dick, Jason, and Roy to leave the room because he was tired of them staring at him like he was going to suddenly disappear. He hadn't said the last part out loud because he knew that subconsciously they might actually feel that way.

He had disappeared. He'd almost died.

But try as he might, it was annoying and having icy cold liquid run into your body through your veins was annoying enough without your boyfriend and your three best friends all staring at you. So he threatened to bar them from the room with Luthor. They'd all laughed in his face about that one, but they decided to give him some space. After about ten minutes, though he saw one of them pass by the room he was in every once in awhile, just glancing inside to make sure he was still functioning.

He couldn't really blame them. He would have done the same thing. He hadn't seen Bruce, but he had seen the suspicious blinking red light in the corner. He knew Bruce was sitting somewhere in front of a computer monitor making sure he was okay.

He tapped his foot on the ground, annoyed that he had to wait. He'd been pretty stagnant, with the exception of his small escape into Luthor's room, for the past couple days and his legs were antsy. His body was antsy.

Just about the time he thought he'd go insane, he saw his favorite nurse, Kate, walk in the door.

"Hi Kate!" He exclaimed with a smile, her mouth quirking in a small smile. Wally chuckled relaxing a bit, he winced as he adjusted on the observation table. He watched her fuss with the medical equipment and smiled, putting an apology in it. "You're still miffed I ran away, huh?"

Kate raised a brow, Wally had the decency to look somewhat apologetic and she smiled back. She rolled her eyes and came over to his IV bag, unhooking it from the wall and placing it on the rolling stand.

Wally smirked briefly, his grin quickly fading when a second nurse rolled in a wheelchair. He looked at Kate, who was conveniently shuffling his chart papers and grabbing a few syringes. He glared at the chair, "Is that really necessary?"

Kate smirked and gestured for him to get in the chair. "You can't run away if you're in the chair."

He groaned and sank onto the vinyl seat, the small chair creaking under his weight.

"I've got him from here Lauren, thanks." The other nurse nodded with a smile and left.

"So really." Wally insisted as they started down the hall, "Who made you do this? Was it Ba–"

"Doctor Richards told me to wheel you in the chair." She quipped, Wally opened his mouth to respond but she just frowned at him, "Batman isn't the only one concerned for you, Flash. Everyone here wants to make sure you live to fight another day."

Wally didn't know what to say so he pouted, knowing he'd been defeated. "It's really not necessary."

He propped his head in his hand on the armrest, ignoring the smirk Kate was giving him. She wheeled the chair around the corner and down the hall, some of the other heroes onboard waved at him saying hello and asking how he was as they made their way to the containment area. It took twice as long as usual because of that, proving her point.

Kate kept moving, Wally apologized for the delays, but Kate didn't mind. She liked this Flash better, not the nearly comatose version she'd gotten used to over the past couple days.

They rolled further down the hall, a sniggering Elongated Man and still bandaged Booster Gold crowded in the corner of the hall. They stared at Flash a little too long for the speedster's taste, his nerves on edge the closer they got to Luthor.

"Hey!" They stopped, eyes going wide as they stared at the bandaged hero in the wheelchair. "Something funny?" Wally snapped, they sputtered a few excuses, their movements jumbled as they scrambled under the Flash-glare so few people got. "I'd like to see you guys get up and walk to another room and save Luthor's life even though he's a prick and he's...aw hell. Just shut up."

The heroes looked a little shocked at Wally's outburst, Booster clearing his throat before he spoke. "We weren't laughing at you, Flash."

Wally rolled his eyes, "Yeah, whatever. Let's go, Kate–"

"No really!" Elongated man chimed in, Kate stopped the wheelchair so Wally could face the two flushed team members. "It's just–"

Booster hit him in the arm, eyes darting up at Kate behind Flash's chair. He looked a bit uneasy, "We weren't laughing at you. Honest."

Wally frowned noticing for the first time Kate was beet red behind him. Suddenly it clicked that maybe it hadn't been him they were giggling at, "Ah…" He squirmed in his chair, cheeks red beneath his cowl. "Nevermind." He turned on his charm full volume, instantly the others felt at ease letting out a few awkward laughs. "I'm just pissed, that's all. Don't mind me."

They waved at him, wishing him a speedy recovery and watched as Kate wheeled him the rest the way down the hall. The greetings lessened the closer they got to the containment unit.

"So." Wally said quietly, "Did Bats give you hell for me running into Luthor's room?"

Kate shrugged, her face its normal shade. "No. But I did get a bit of a grilling by the head nurse in front of a bunch of people."

"Oh." Wally slumped, "Sorry."

Kate smiled, "It wasn't that bad, just embarrassing. Dr. Richards called her out on it later." She smirked and leaned in conspiratorially, "Even Batman stepped up for me. They know you're impossible."

Wally laughed, "Gee, thanks."

"Besides," she shrugged, pulling up the door and typing in a code to open it, "Elongated Man is just pissed that I told him he had a tiny penis."

Wally coughed, eyes huge. "You what–?"

Kate laughed, "I told him he had a tiny penis."

Wally picked his jaw off the floor and laughed, "Wow."

She shrugged, "He kept asking me out and the guy couldn't take a hint."

Wally smiled and laughed with her, distracted for a moment from where he was going.

They walked through a second locked door and rolled into the space. Wally stared straight ahead through the glass door and grimaced. Luthor was lying on a table in the center, his skin had a grey-cast to it, "He looks bad."

Kate sighed, her voice hard when she whispered, "He is."

Wally looked up at her, he placed one of his gloved hands on hers and patted it softly. "We don't make the choice. We fight, we try, and if we fail we can honestly know that we tried everything to make it right. It's all we can do and we can do no less."

She nodded, but her face remained set as she wheeled him in. As soon as they were through the door he stood, her hand on his shoulder stopped him for a moment.

"Do me a favor?" She whispered. Wally nodded, seeing the sincerity in her expression. "Don't die in there, okay? You're needed here."

Wally nodded, smiling at her as she smirked back. "Besides, you're the least annoying patient I have."

Wally let out a small laugh, but quickly turned serious. Ignoring her objections as he grabbed the IV bag and walked over to where Luthor lay on the table.

The criminal mastermind looked gaunt, his face pinched in pain as the nurses and doctors moved to sit him up.

Wally looked over and saw a treadmill, specifically designed by himself and Batman to give him and other faster heroes the ability to do stress tests somewhat accurately. They still hadn't been able to get it to his top speeds, but Superman could do it now and a few others. Ray Palmer was currently fiddling with the machine while Dr. Richards directed medical staff.

Wally looked around the room at the controlled chaos. All of these people in one room to do one task and all because he thought he could do it. It was humbling. He glanced around for the one person he knew wouldn't miss this and didn't see him. His green eyes landed on three fidgeting forms instead, smiling as he walked towards them.

"I thought you'd be on lockdown for sure." Wally said, Dick and rolling their eyes while Roy just grunted as he flipped to the next page in the magazine.

"Like you could keep us away." Jason grunted, tossing the magazine he'd been reading back on the table, "Besides, we aren't here babysitting you."

Dick smirked, leaning back in the chair, "Let's just say big blue doesn't want Batman going ape if something happens."

Wally snorted, "You guys are babysitting Bats?"

They nodded.

"Really?"

They nodded.

Wally shrugged, "Yeah, okay." He glanced back over at all the preparations going on.

He frowned, "I hope they know what they're getting into."

Jason got up and placed a reassuring hand on Wally's shoulder, "Richards knows what he's doing. And so does Batman, in all his gruff and bastard glory."

Wally nodded, but still looked unsure. The other three shared a concerned look before Jason forced a smile, his tone sarcastically bright, "Besides, it went so well the last time Luthor had access to your super speed, it's bound to go smoothly."

Dick groaned, "Not helping."

They heard a soft growl behind them, "We've adapted our strategy for that."

Wally turned, smile on his face as he saw Batman standing behind him. It took every ounce of self-control for him not to hurl himself into those strong arms and tell him to take him far away from all of this. Instead he smiled, putting that flirtatious twinkle in his eye and sidled up to the Dark Knight, careful not to touch other than a friendly shoulder pat, "Careful, Bats. You sound almost worried."

Bruce narrowed his eyes and grunted, walking towards the preparations. Wally smiled as he left, but his smile faltered a little when he saw them wheel Luthor over to the treadmill.

Dick stepped next to him, "We're here Wally." He whispered.

Jason smiled and stood on his other side, "We're all here."

Wally chuckled, another vague memory floating by as he gathered up his gumption and walked over to Richards who was gesturing at him. He heard Roy, Jason, and Dick follow him.

Richards smiled, his face harried from all the chaos around him, "Alright, Flash, how are you?"

Wally smiled, realizing the effort the good doctor was putting into keeping things remotely casual, "I'm alright, doc. Been worse."

Richards laughed, more out of awkward tension than anything else, "Right, yes, well…" He caught sight of the three men behind him and greeted them all, he and Jason's exchange a little stiff. Wally raised a brow at Dick, but the older Bat just winked and shook his head in an 'I'll tell you later' kind of way.

When Bruce walked up next to the doctor and nodded, Richards smiled and looked around at those gathered, "Alright. Everyone! I need you all to pay close attention because there will not be another time to go through everything again. I need teams A thru F in their positions please when I say go, you will wait there until I have finished prepping both our patients here and I will again be on stand by to give you your orders, understood?"

A few answering murmurs echoed around the room, but Richards looked unsatisfied, "I _said_ is that understood?!" He said much louder, the resounding answer much louder than the first.

"Good, " He nodded, "Okay, to your stations please!"

They all scrambled away until Kate, Dr. Richards, Batman, Wally, and Dick, Jason, and Roy were left standing by the largest monitor. Out of the corner of his eye Wally saw Shayera, Superman, GL, Wonder Woman, and J'onn walk in the room and take up positions around the room.

His bodyguards.

Wally glanced at Bruce and saw him nod to all of them and knew who was in charge of that assignment.

"Okay, Flash," Richards clapped his hands, bringing Wally's attention back to the doctor.

"Walk me through how we get the speed to Luthor again."

"Well, basically I hold Luthor's hands–" He heard Jason chuckle and the following slap to the back of the head, but ignored it, "and I focus my energy into him. I'm not one hundred percent sure exactly how it works, but I've tried it with a human before and it should be fine. The power is only transferred for a brief amount of time and so I'll have to pump in a bit more juice, it'll probably take about 20 minutes for the serum to totally leave his system–"

"26 minutes."

Wally looked up at Richards, the doctor scribbling notes down on the paper, "What?"

Richards looked up from the pad. "I should take 26 minutes for it all to flush out and for his tissue to regenerate normally. We had to bring him back once already while you were in prep."

Wally's eyes were wide, but he shook his head and continued, "So I'll have to give him a little more 'oomph' then. But I've only done this twice and both times it lasted about fifteen minutes and I was fine. But I was at full strength so it's likely that I'll pass out afterwards."

"Team A." Richards said gesturing to a group of people standing by a hospital bed and medical station.

"Huh?" Wally looked at the doctor, waiting for him to explain.

"That's what Team A is for. Kate will lead Team A to take care of you when things are finished. Team B is there for Mr. Luthor and the surrounding teams are manning both the technical aspects of the procedure and acting as additional back up for everyone." Richards set down the notes and smiled at the look of surprise on Wally's face.

"Really, it'll be fine in like two minutes–" Wally sputtered.

"Team A is non-negotiable." Batman growled.

Wally opened his mouth to argue, but the hand on his shoulder kept him from doing so. He growled back and continued telling Dr. Richards all that would happen. They finished up and walked over to the bed with Team B standing by, Luthor was grey and sweating in the bed. But he had enough balls left to smile condescendingly at the people walking up to his bed.

"Mr. Luthor–" Richards started, but was interrupted.

"Lex, please, call me Lex."

Richards cleared his throat, clearly put off but moved on. "Mr. Luthor."

Luthor frowned, Jason chuckled.

Richards shifted on his feet and continued, "We are almost ready to begin, you understand what you're to do?"

Luthor nodded, "Yes." He gestured to Wally, "The Flash is going to give me some of his speed, I will have a nice run on the treadmill over there for 26 minutes, building up speed while the serum leaves my body."

Richards smiled, "Yes. That about sums it up. We have a team standing by with the AED to make sure you survive, after that, Team B will take care of your needs until further notice."

Luthor rolled his eyes, but sat up, the nurse to his left helping him to the wheelchair by the bed and they all walked to the treadmill, Luthor disgruntled in the chair.

Wally walked up next to the megalomaniac, ignoring his glare he held out his hands, "You ready, Lex?"

Luthor frowned at Wally's outstretched hands. "What?"

Wally sighed, irritated by the villain in front of him. "You have to grab my hands."

Luthor scoffed, "I'm not about to hold your hand like some yuppy–"

Wally growled and through clenched teeth spat, "You have to, you ungrateful asshole."

A few coughs echoed around the room, followed by a few surprised stares. Luthor just smiled sarcastically, "Why?"

Wally rolled his eyes, "Do you want to die?"

Luthor frowned and stood from the chair, carefully taking Flash's now bare hands, a soft buzz emanating from his arms. Slowly the vibrations grew until his hands glowed and Luthor's grey skin started turning pinker, his hands glowing.

Eyes wide, Luthor tried to take a step back, but Wally held tight, "Wha–?"

Wally grimaced, his entire body now vibrating in place and every injury he had screaming at him to lie down, "Just shut up and get ready to jump on the treadmill."

Batman watched Wally and Luthor closely, but finished up with the treadmill and made the necessary adjustments.

Wally started sweating, his own face pale until finally he tore his hands from Luthor's. Lex stared open mouthed at his vibrating hands and smiled at the power in his veins.

Wally stumbled to his knees and was immediately surrounded by Batman and Richards, the latter telling Luthor to get on the treadmill.

Luthor jumped on, starting at a jog until he moved faster and faster. The clock had started his countdown as soon as the treadmill engaged. His breathing evened the more he ran, his eyes moving wildly as he felt his body repair itself, an icy chill moving down his spine.

Superman and Wonder Woman moved to stand close to the treadmill, watching Luthor's color turn back to it's naturally pale shade and glanced worried at their friend on the floor.

Richards, Batman, and Kate hauled Wally into a wheelchair and immediately moved him to his hospital bed.

"Watch them!" Batman growled at Jason and Dick, Roy following along as they jogged to stand by and make sure Luthor did exactly like he was supposed to.

Luthor's body was vibrating on the machine, slowly he blurred from everyone's vision, his basic outline still in place on the treadmill. A small electric spark shot from the blur, a grunt coming from Luthor as he ran faster. The clock counted down and the circle around him grew wider as more sparks shot from Luthor.

Wally struggled to sit up from the hospital bed they'd laid him on, his face pale and sweaty as Bruce worked to make sure he was getting what he needed

"-eed p'dle…" Wally mumbled, words jumbling out of his mouth, the sound coming from the treadmill slowly drowning him out as they hooked him to various monitors and IV drips.

Batman leaned in close, eyes worried as he frantically searched Wally's pale face, "What's wrong, Flash?"

Wally blinked, his glassy eyes staring back into Bruce's concerned ones. "Paddles–" Wally spat out as he swallowed hard, his breathing a bit frantic and shallow as the medical staff scrambled around him to bring him back to a normal pattern. "B'ts..or...heart…"

Bruce frowned as he grabbed onto Wally's hand, ignoring the nurses telling him to move. "Wally what are you saying?"

Richards had run over to the treadmill a new, loud sound coming from it as Luthor became visible, the clock reading: 07:01 remaining.

Bruce whirled to see what was happening with Luthor on the machine when suddenly it dawned on him. He squeezed Wally's hand, "I got it Wally. You can rest now."

Wally nodded and with a sigh fell unconscious. Bruce reluctantly let go of Wally and sprinted over to the treadmill, everyone now able to see the labored breath of Luthor on the machine.

"We need the paddles, Luthor's about to–"

Luthor let out a shudder and collapsed off of the treadmill, the heart monitors attached to his body fried so the monitor went wild. Richards immediately dropped next to the criminal mastermind, checking for a pulse.

"No pulse!" The doctor shouted, "I need that AED! Now!" Team B rushed as Luthor they flipped the man onto his back and ripped open the hospital scrubs. Just as they got paddles, everyone stunned as they watched the medical team try to revive one of the world's most iconic villains, a sound from behind them caused everyone's blood to go ice cold.

Bruce whirled, feeling like he was moving through water, his ears hearing the loud, monotonous tone coming from the heart monitor attached to Wally's chest. Everyone turned, horrified, towards their speedster, the realization of what was happening hitting them all at the same time.

Then everything went crazy.

...

Yay! That was a longer chapter, I haven;t updated in a little bit so hopefully it was alright.

Two more left! How will it all end? I do love to torture Wally and Bruce in kind because I'm torturing Wally. Mwa haha haha ha... ha. K bye.


	31. Chapter 31

Oh man y'all. I've been gone so looooong. But the good news is, I'm back! The bad news is, this fic is almost over. This isn't a super long update, but I have more coming very soon. Thanks again for reading!

...

Wally blinked, eyes slowly adjusting to the bright light.

"What the…" Wally sat up slowly and groaned. He shook his head, his vision was fuzzy, but it rapidly came into focus.

He was in a white room, floor and ceiling indeterminate from one another. He blinked rapidly, the blend making it disorienting to look at.

 _What the hell happened?_

His hand reached up for his head, the pounding was insistent. He looked around trying to understand where he was when his eyes fell on a slumped form a few yards away. He stood, stumbling on his feet and walked closer to the lump, his foot pushing an unconscious Luthor onto his back.

"Luthor." He nudged the villain with his foot, "Get up."

No response, he kneeled next to the man and ran his hand on his pulse, nothing there.

Luthor's eyes shot open and he sprang forward, Wally jolted back and landed on his butt. He glared at the villain, confused why he was awake when he hadn't felt a pulse. He opened his mouth, but paused, moving his hand up to his own neck and realizing he also had no pulse. Wally's eyes widened, finding Luthor's own wide eyes. He gulped.

Luthor frowned at him and growled, "Are we dead?"

"I sure as hell hope not," Wally jumped to his feet, "I don't want to spend eternity with you."

Luthor rolled his eyes and stood, holding out a hand to Wally until the shocked hero grabbed it and stood. Luthor frowned, "The feeling is mutual."

Wally glared at the villain, but decided to ignore him for the moment. He looked around. The surrounding area still somewhat disorienting, but something about it seemed familiar.

"Hey, maybe we're–" Wally whirled around in a circle, running around at speed until he stopped in front of Luthor and poked him "–no. It can't be."

"Hey!" Luthor shouted, angrily rubbing his chest.

"You wouldn't be here–" Wally sputtered, eyes wide.

"Be where?" Luthor growled.

Wally rubbed his face in agitation. "The Speed Force."

"What?"

Wally paced, hands raking across his head as he frantically tried to reason through it. "You wouldn't...no. It's impossible. I think."

Luthor growled, eyes narrow as he looked around the room. "What are you talking about? What is the Speed Force?"

"It's the source of all speedsters' powers. All speedsters in any time and place gain their power from this place." Wally growled, his agitation growing as he looked around, still not seeing anyone or the floating shapes he'd seen last time he'd entered the space unwillingly.

Luthor stopped, eyes wide as he looked at Wally. "But you came back."

Wally sighed, shoulders dropping before turning to face Luthor. "I was pulled out."

"Well, they have to know we're here," Luthor shouted, "They'll do it again!"

Wally shook his head sadly, "I don't think so Lex. I wasn't supposed to leave last time and I don't think I'll get a second chance."

Luthor opened his mouth, but no words left him. Instead he stopped, closed his mouth and stared at the ground. He cleared his throat, "So we're stuck."

Wally almost felt sorry for him, but he straightened his shoulders instead. "I'll find a way to get us out of here."

Luthor raised his eyes up from the ground, he moved forward a step, but suddenly he jolted to a stop mid-step. Wally moved, voice hesitant, "Lex?"

He zipped up close to Luthor, the man was frozen in place. Wally snapped his fingers in front of Luthor's face. Luthor jerked into a standing position and flickered, Wally shot away from him as Luthor stood still, then suddenly released a gasp and crumpled to the ground. Wally ran next to him, helping the man sit up.

"What the hell was that Luthor?" Wally shouted frantically. Luthor shook his head trying to clear his fuzzy thoughts and his form flickered again.

"I think," He said, voice hoarse, "they're trying to bring us back. Restarting our hearts. It felt like I was being sat on by a five-hundred pound gorilla."

Wally smirked, "Well you have a talking one on staff, don't you?"

Luthor glared at him, flickering again as he sat on the ground. Wally shrugged and sat back a moment watching for another moment of rigor mortis. Nothing happened, Luthor flickered out of focus for a moment, but remained seated on the floor.

"Huh." Wally said, trying not to sound too disappointed. Luthor frowned, watching his hands as he would flicker for a moment and then refocus into their reality.

Wally didn't know how long they sat there, but a ping sounded off in the distance drawing their attention from Luthor's problem. Wally stood, ready for anything. He held a hand out telling Luthor to stay put. A small yellow dot appeared in the distance, the shape and size growing larger at a rapid rate.

Wally's eyes widened, a soft roar like the sound of a rocket grew louder as the speck grew larger. Wally readied himself, until the sound was loud and insistent, and Wally found himself flat on his back, a man hovering above him. Wally blinked as he realized the man wasn't clothed in yellow, but in gold. White and gold lightning jumping all around him and from him, his face devoid of significant features, but melded into a handsome profile, his skin gold, eyes pure white beams of light. The being's head turned, finding Luthor and before Wally could blink, had him by the neck and off the floor.

Wally groaned and tried sitting up but he couldn't move fast enough. He watched Luthor scream and yell as the being vibrated his hands until Luthor disappeared in a flash of bright light.

Wally shielded his eyes, turning when he found the being hovering above him once again with an outstretched hand. Wally blinked, waiting for the man to say something.

Nothing came.

Wally looked at the man above him with wary eyes, but reached a hand out and accepted his help in standing. The being nodded and took a step back, eyes staring straight into Wally's own.

Wally shuffled on his feet, the silence uncomfortable. "Did you kill him?"

The gold man in front of him tilted his head, saying nothing.

"Do you speak?" Wally spoke more insistent, his frustration starting to leak into his voice.

Another head tilt, but this time the being's eyes faded, the bright light replaced with eyes of gold amber.

"Who are you?" Wally asked, a sudden sense of deja vu hitting him. The man stepped closer, but Wally didn't run as the gold hand reached out and touched his chest. Images of running over land and sea, through villages from prehistoric times, through history, watching men fight, women keen, and worlds that were not his own crumble into madness. His chest swelled with warmth as image after image, some recognizable to him, flooded his mind until suddenly all he could see was the man in front of him.

"You're a speedster–" Wally breathed, his eyes wide with astonishment as the gold man took a step back and his golden eyes again turned to bright light, he shakes his head once. Wally paused, the only other option being–

"You're it." Wally said softly, "The Speed Force."

He nodded.

Wally frowned, his chest still warm from his encounter. "The Speed Force is a living thing?"

The golden being cocked his head, eyes returning to their golden hue.

"Well that's helpful," Wally mumbled to himself, his irritation quickly replacing the warmth from earlier. The being looked at him, pondering a moment before suddenly more images flashed through Wally's head. This time of power, and the loss of it. A sun glows brighter and brighter while a star in a distant galaxy fades to nothing. A man with strength is taken down by a weaker man with more wisdom than he, more and more images go through the Flash's mind, displaying power and the loss of it. Checks and balances. The last being of the Flash and the League saving Luthor using the Speed Force.

Wally gasps and stumbled back, shaking his head of the buzzing in his ears. "Is he dead?" He whispers.

Nothing

"How do I get back?" Wally spoke harsher, taking a step forward.

The man shook his head.

Wally can't breath, his heart pounding in his chest as what the man is telling him sinks in, "I–I have to go back."

"Why?" The voice echoes all around, the man's mouth not moving, but Wally knows the Speed Force is speaking to him.

"Because," Wally growled, "people depend on me. I have people who love me and I love those people and I need to go back to them."

Images from his fight with Luthor and Brainiac flood his mind, he watches as Shayera pulls him from the swirling white portal in the air until he sprawls against them.

I can never go that fast again. If I do, I don't think I'm coming back.

Wally falls back, his words echoing at him as he falls to the ground. He can't breathe, he really isn't going back. He knew he'd told Luthor that when they'd first arrived, but he hadn't actually thought…

"I have to." Wally whispered, his chest tight. "I didn't realize I had no strikes left, that I had any strikes at all!" Wally stumbled to his feet, his face flushed as anger hits him. "Is this really it? I die and you go bestow your greatness on some other unsuspecting fool?"

The man tilted his head, eyes still the subdued gold. "You can go back."

Wally felt his chest loosen for a moment before his suspicions got the better of him. He frowned, "What's the catch?"

"No power."

Wally stumbled forward, his breath knocked out of him as he realizes what the Speed Force is doing. He can go back, but he can never run again, never be a hero. He can live, but he must leave this piece of himself behind.

Wally dropped to his knees, staring with wide eyes at his shaking hands until he falls on them, eyes staring at the floor. He looks up, eyes hard. "People need the Speed Force, they depend on your power to save them from the world."

Wally let out a sigh and slumped back on his knees, head in his chest. "Will you promise me something?"

The being tilted his head, but said nothing. Wally looked at the floor before his eyes lifted to the golden eyes of the force in front of him, "Will you promise that if I can't help them, you'll find someone who will? Someone who can handle all of this?"

The being blinked, eyes thoughtful, until he nods. Wally lets out his breath and finds his first smile while in the white world.

A sudden, excruciating pain ripped through his chest, Wally screamed. Another pain lanced through his body as he writhed on the ground in complete agony and his body arched off the ground. The world of white faded from his vision until all he can see above is darkness, everything slows, drifting. Then suddenly…

It stops.

His heartbeat, the only sound in the black until even that stops and he is left in black silence.

...

More to come soon!


	32. Chapter 32

To those of you reading, thank you for sticking with me! I love this story and I love these two and I have a few more chapters and this story with take it's bow. Thanks again!

...

Everyone moved at once, Superman and Wonder Woman moved quickly to assist the team assigned to Luthor in getting the villain out of the way of the team assigned to help Wally.

This hadn't been part of the plan, they had contingencies in the event that something like this could occur, but this hadn't been in the actual plan. Batman hurled himself into action, instinct taking over as he quickly tore open the shirt on Flash's chest, Richards had paddles on Luthor, shouting "clear!" as they attempted to revive the villain.

Bruce wasn't paying attention to them. He felt himself ripped away from the bedside, Dick and Jason on either side of him as he worked to calm himself. Dick held onto his shoulder as he stood back, watching the medics led by Kate call out for more supplies that would bring Wally's heartbeat back.

Dr. Richards called out "clear!" again and again until finally his second shook his head, Luthor lying motionless on the ground. Richards let out a frustrated shout, tossing the paddles to the floor. He felt a hand squeeze his shoulder and looked over his shoulder, Red Hood giving another squeeze before running back over to the chaos surrounding Flash's bedside.

"Time of death, 23:00." Richards growled before sprinting from the dead man, now covered by a white sheet, to Flash's bed.

Kate commanded the line, screaming for another volt from the AED. But the monitor didn't change, the loud, single tone making everyone in the room stop. Richards scrambled next to Kate and held the paddles back, shaking his head. He looked up, finding the dark, cold eyes across from him, a black gloved hand holding the pale, lifeless one on the bed.

Kate balked up at the doctor, trying to put the paddles back on the Flash's bare chest, but Richards tore them away. He held her by the shoulders and shook, her eyes filled with tears. "Call it." He spoke softly, Kate stepped back and shook her head.

Richards sighed, but stopped when a voice cut through his heart.

"Time of death, 23:02." Batman said calmly, hand wrapped around Flash's as the others in the room slowly understood what was happening. Nightwing and Red Hood leaned on one another for support, Arsenal sliding down the wall as he too fell into tears. No one moved for a while, the idea that both Luthor and Flash were dead too unreal.

Superman moved first, hand clasping Batman's shoulder as the rest of the Founders gathered around Flash's bed and stared, tear streaked faces horrified at their friend so still in the bed.

Richards left them alone with their friend, head shaking as he mumbled about calculations and plans. He stopped when he made it back to Luthor on the gurney, sheet covering his face. He pulled it back and couldn't help but feel shame wash over him.

 _I talked Flash into it._

He dropped the sheet back over the villain's face and turned back, grabbing Luthor's chart when suddenly a sound caught his attention.

A gasp.

He whirled, the chart clattering on the ground as he saw the sheet twitch over Luthor and he ripped it back, the eyelids flickering until they shot open.

"Hey!" Richards yelled to the standing medics, "Grab a cart!"

Medical personnel rushed towards him and he readied the paddles as Luthor let out a scream and arched off the gurney, his eyes, wide open flashed a brilliant white and he slumped back on the table. Richards scrambled close to the villain and checked for a pulse, finding a strong, beating heart there. Luthor shot up off the bed, knocking the doctor back into the waiting arms of Red Hood who pushed him upright.

"What the hell doc?!" The vigilante shouted. Hood ran next to Luthor as the other heroes realized what was happening and readied themselves for something, anything, to happen that would give them the excuse to throw Luthor through the wall.

Luthor coughed and sat forward, eyes wide as he looked around and drew huge, gulping breaths. Richards pointed to the nurse by the empty hospital bed, "Bring me a mask, get him onto oxygen STAT!"

They quickly got Luthor adjusted onto the hospital bed from before, a mask hooked to his nose and mouth and heart monitor firmly in place, his heart beating at full capacity.

Before Richards could do anything else, Nightwing and Red Hood hovered near him, causing him to frown until he saw whirling black out of the corner of his eye. He turned, facing the oncoming Bat, "Now, Batman, you can't just–"

Batman shoved him to the side, grabbing Luthor by the collar of his hospital gown. He leaned in, teeth bared, "What happened?"

Luthor rolled his eyes and reached for the mask, removing it. He looked down at the hand on his gown and frowned, "If you would let go, I can tell you."

Bruce shoved him back onto the bed, Luthor letting out a huff as he readjusted, "We were in some place...not here. Flash knew where it was and said I shouldn't be there."

The Founders were listening, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Arsenal perking up at what the criminal was saying. Batman growled, gripping his hands into fists beneath his cape. "Where?"

Luthor shrugged, taking a breath from the mask before saying anything more. "I don't know. I remember being somewhere I shouldn't have been, I was choked by something gold, and now I'm here."

Bruce took a step forward, but Dick held out a hand stopping him.

Luthor frowned. "That's all I know." He cleared his throat and took a breath from the mask, everyone turning from his bed except a few necessary medical assistance. Luthor glared at the mask in his hand and put it next to him, "I would tell you."

Batman turned back, the others looking at the criminal with questions in their gaze. Luthor cleared his throat,but refused to make eye contact, "If I knew more, I would tell you."

Bruce grit his teeth, but he knew from the look on Luthor's face he was telling the truth. The rest of the heroes that had been in the room when Flash had flatlined had melted back to the outer edges of the large space. People mumbling and whispering, the occasional glance to the white sheet being made.

Bruce was still glaring at Luthor when the soft roar started. Everyone glanced around, trying to understand where the noise was coming from until it was so loud everyone had assumed battle ready positions. The roar echoed until it stopped suddenly, a gasp sounded from the bed.

Bruce whirled, eyes finding Wally arching off the bed under the white sheet. Another loud gasp came from the speedster before people realized what was happening enough to move.

Kate stared wide-eyed at the arching hero and tossed the sheet to the floor, quickly rolling into medic mode, "Get a crash cart and I need bags and bags of Flash's calorie cocktail, now!" People scrambled to follow her orders as Dr. Richards came into the fray and Flash's body began to seize.

Bruce stared at the commotion, his thoughts moving so slowly as he walked closer, finding himself hurled in the arms of Dick and Jason once again, staring with hope as the paddles were placed on Wally's chest and he bounced on the thin mattress.

"Once again," Richards yelled, brow wet with sweat, "Clear!"

Nothing changed.

"Clear!"

Wally arched off the bed, eyes flying open and a scream torn from his chest, soft and barely there until it was a full blown cry of agony. Wally flopped onto the bed, alert and awake, soaked with sweat.

"What–" he croaked, it sounding like the most beautiful thing Bruce had ever heard, "–what happened?"


	33. Chapter 33

As always, thank you for reading!

...

Flash could hear shouting. Rapidly, darkness became pain as his eyes flooded with bright light and he was overwhelmed with sound and movement all around him. He croaked something out of his mouth, but he wasn't exactly sure what it was.

"Flash." Wally blinked, eyes finding Batman standing a few feet away, Dick and Jason holding their arms across his chest. He let out a sigh and let his head drop back, smiling at the ceiling.

He made it home.

He laughed and he knew the people around him were nervous about what that meant, but he didn't care.

Bruce walked up to him and checked his vitals as Dr. Richards did the same. The doctor smiled at him and adjusted a few things as Nurse Kate helped him.

"Glad to see you back with us, Flash."

Wally smiled at the doctor, "Glad to be back." His smile fell, he felt the gloved hand on his shoulder and didn't want to look. He knew once he did all composure would vanish and he would lose himself to the emotions running through him.

He stopped, his thought returning to his time in the Speed Force.

"Help me up." Wally sputtered, pushing himself up from the bed and swinging is legs over the side.

"Wait–" Richards started, his hands reaching for Flash only to be stopped by the glare from Batman, the dark clad hero hoisting Wally from the bed and helping him onto his feet.

Wally was unsteady, holding onto Bruce for dear life. For more than one reason. He glanced around him for the first time and realized they had an audience. He swallowed the fear threatening to overwhelm him and he hesitated.

Bruce saw the doubt flicker in Wally's eyes, he turned towards the back of the room. "Everyone out." He growled. Heroes and personnel moved, but not fast enough for the man, "Now!" He barked, causing everyone but the Founders, Dick, Jason, Roy, and Dr. Richards and Nurse Kate to leave the room.

Wally smiled, "Thanks."

Bruce nodded, holding his lover tighter when his steps faltered. Wally waved him off and Bruce relaxed his grip, but stayed within reach. Wally staggered a few feet and stood still for a moment. He took a breath and stared at the wall, brow furrowed in concentration.

Everyone else stood waiting, not sure what Flash was doing.

"Wa–" Shayera began, stopping when Bruce glared at her. She glared back, but looked back at Wally who was still staring at the wall in concentration, "Flash? Are you alright?"

Flash didn't respond for a moment, instead his mouth dropped a bit and his breathing quickened. "...'s gone. I–I can't…" He didn't finish the statement, instead turned and stumbled back to the bed, eyes unfocused as he plopped on the hospital bed. He looked at his hands, willing them to do something, anything.

"You can't what, Flash?" Wonder Woman asked softly. She frowned at Superman who was looking concerned at the speedster.

Dick, Jason, and Bruce reached the conclusion at the same time.

"His speed is gone."

They all turned, Luthor speaking from his bed. He looked stoic, his eyes on Wally who was still staring at his hands. "He can't vibrate because his speed is gone." He paused, choosing his words, "He took it, didn't he?"

Wally looked up from his hands, eyes glassy as he nodded at Luthor.

"Who did?" John asked, the Green Lantern's eyes flaring brighter with anger on his little brother's behalf, "Who took it, Flash?"

Wally sighed, "The Speed Force."

Bruce was genuinely surprised, as was everyone else in the room. His eyes widened, but he schooled his features, not wanting Wally more agitated than he already was. "You went back in. That's what Luthor meant when he said you went somewhere he wasn't supposed to be."

Flash nodded, hands going limp on his knees. He looked up at his friends, their face giving him some comfort. He found Bruce's eyes beneath the mask and smiled sadly, "That was the deal."

"But Wa–Flash," Roy started, ignoring the elbow he received to the stomach for his near slip in front of Lex Luthor, "what happened? You were only gone a few–" Dick reached out and gripped the archer's shoulder, Roy stopping at the devastated look in the speedster's eyes.

Dr. Richards frowned and nodded at Kate, the nurse grabbing a few syringes. "Flash, we're going to take some samples and then I'm going to ask that you rest, alright?" He looked pointedly at the heroes in the room, all of them nodding before starting to leave the large space. Richards knew they didn't want to leave, but he also knew this wasn't going to be easy for Flash to adjust to. He'd need space. "I'll have Kate roll you back to your private room after we take some blood."

Wally nodded, feeling strangely numb, like something was missing.

Because it was.

He didn't watch them take blood, he didn't watch anyone leave. He heard them move out the door and mumble their assorted 'see you later' and 'feel better soon' exit lines until they were gone.

Kate finished drawing the blood samples and he moved to the wheelchair. Kate rolled him down the hall. He ignored the stares, but was saved from most of the attention because Batman followed them down the hall like an avenging bodyguard. He knew Bruce wasn't going to leave him alone for a while.

If ever.

But, to be honest, he wasn't sure that would be such a bad thing.

"Okay," Kate said once they were in the room, her voice ringing with the fake sweetness most nurses have when dealing with patients. "I'll get you settled and leave you to rest for a while." She left Wally in his chair and grabbed an IV kit to start in his arm. She inserted the needle and set up the necessary equipment, Batman hovering in the corner while Flash refused to say anything, instead staring at the ground. She helped him to the bed and he thumped against the soft surface and grunted in pain as his body remembered all the injuries he'd had before giving Luthor his speed, being pulled into the Speed Force, and then losing his speed. His gut twinged at the mostly healed gunshot wound and several healing, but still cracked ribs. He winced as he moved on the bed, carefully adjusting until he could sit comfortably. Kate noticed and went over to the metal cabinet, swiping her card and coming back with two syringes.

"This," she said, holding up one of the tubes with clear liquid, "is an antibiotic to help prevent any infections from your surgery or from your other healing injuries. And this," she held up the second vial, "is morphine for your pain."

Flash opened his mouth to argue, but she shook her head. "Nope. I don't want to hear it. You need your rest and this will help you." She placed a hand on his shoulder, eyes warm with empathy, "We're entering new territory here. Let the staff, myself, and the doctor take care of you. We'll figure the rest out later."

Wally closed his mouth and slumped back in the bed, nodding. She smiled at him and added the medications to his IV drip. Wally's eyes were already drooping. Kate looked back, finding Batman still brooding silently in the corner. "Dr. Richards is running him on a much smaller dose of his usual calorie cocktail and we'll monitor the morphine and antibiotics, make sure we're adjusting as needed."

Batman remained silent and walked closer to the bed, keeping enough of a distance, but still closer. Kate hesitated, but decided to say what was on her mind, "You should hold his hand."

Batman looked at her, face not giving away anything. Kate tossed the used syringes away and continued about the room as usual, "I saw you in the room with Lex Luthor before, we all did. I know–what I mean to say is...ah I'm not saying this how I want to." She frowned and grabbed the chart from the end of the bed, "What I'm trying to say is that I know you care about him. More than most. I'm not going to say anything and neither will anyone else if you hold his hand and stay close to him. He'll feel better if you're here, if you're holding his hand. It's how he finds comfort and I think that's important to you that he be comfortable."

Batman didn't say anything for a moment. He grabbed a chair and pulled it up against the edge of the bed. He sat down and Kate rolled her eyes, his hands still at his sides. Bruce saw the gesture, but his eyes were on Wally. He reached out and grabbed the redhead's hand, Kate smiling as she left the room knowing her patient would be happy.

Bruce didn't watch her leave, but he was grateful for her boldness all the same. He knew most of the tower knew he and Wally were together, and if they didn't then this whole fiasco would surely have clue them in. She had guts, and he knew he'd be speaking to Richards about offering her a promotion when this was done. After dealing with Wally, she certainly deserved one.

The Head Nurse had always irritated him.

Bruce smiled to himself and squeezed his lover's hand, "I love you." He whispered. He could almost hear Wally responding back, but for now the consistent rise and fall of his chest was enough. There'd be time for more later. He was alive, and they were going to figure it out, one step at a time.

...


	34. Chapter 34

Hey! So...I have a confession to make: I'm having a hard time letting this fic go. This chapter wasn't planned and I'm not sorry I wrote it either. Sometimes things happen organically and this is a result of that. I created Dr. Richards and have fallen into the writer trope of falling in love with my character. So. I put more attention on him, but don't worry, it still flows and also serves as a prequel to a fic I'm going to write from the perspective of the good doctor.

So without further ado...

...

Jason stretched his arms above his head, his body sore from taking a quick nap on the floor outside of Wally's hospital room. He cracked his neck and blinked away the sleep. He was wearing a simple domino mask, the helmet had been claustrophobic after about an hour and he'd decided to hell with it and taken it off, setting it next to him in the hall. He looked up at the clock on the wall. Wally had been asleep for over three hours and, at last glance, Bruce had been out cold beside him. Dick, Roy, and Jason were camped outside the door so no one would bother the two men. Bruce and Wally needed the rest.

The rest of the Founders had gone back to as much of a "business as usual" as they could. Superman took up the first shift of Monitor Duty with Mr. Terrific, coordinating various missions on and off Earth. John and Shayera were sleeping for a couple hours so they could take the next rotation. J'onn jumped in on coordinating tower repairs with Steel, and Wonder Woman resumed her duties training some of the new recruits with Black Canary.

It didn't take long for Superman to pass by Wally's room. It had taken about thirty minutes for all of the Founders to meander by their friend's room at some point. Dick wasn't even looking up from his book anymore and Roy had started snoring after the second round.

Every half hour, they'd hear footsteps walk by the room, a mumbled "everything alright?" before Dick would nod, and then they'd do it all again in a half hour.

You could put a clock to it.

Other heroes had also walked by the room, some genuinely wishing Flash well, but others were trying to get the latest gossip. Dick wasn't as open to their curiosity and after about forty-five minutes of obvious gawking, he'd had enough. He told Kate, the nurse in charge of Wally's care, that only the Founding members, Roy, himself, and Dr. Richards were allowed in the hallway where Wally's room was.

Jason had started walking away to go fetch some coffee when Dick listed off the names. He stopped and glared at his brother, "Hey!" He barked, pointing enthusiastically at himself, "Include me on that list there, bird brain."

"Oh, yeah," Dick mumbled, running a hand through his raven hair, "He's fine, too."

Jason rolled his eyes and set off to fetch caffeine, they clearly needed it.

Kate chuckled at the two friends and marked them on the list, it was still hard for her to believe they were Batman's proteges. Recent events had softened her impression of Batman, but the masked avenger was a hard image to completely erase from her mind.

Batman had always seemed like a myth more than a real person. He almost never got a medical check unless his injuries were extensive, his combat and strategy skills were whispered about, and his glares could put Superman down. She'd always thought Flash was brave when she'd see him joke around with Batman, but after seeing him now with the speedster, it was hard not to understand why they were so compatible. The phrase 'don't judge a book by its cover' came to mind.

She smiled and double checked the other two rooms in the short hall to make sure they were empty. Not all the League members had quarters on the Watchtower. It wasn't uncommon, when the group bunk room was full, that the nursing staff would find a spandex-clad hero snoring in one of the empty medical rooms. These three rooms were separate from the rest of the medical wing and the entrance was right next to the nurses' station, so they didn't get a lot of super nappers, but she wanted to be sure.

Closing the door, she smiled and placed the list on the clipboard every nurse checked before their shift. She had no problems convincing the nurses to enforce the new guest list. She had considered limiting access anyway, but requests from the members of the League made her job easier.

It also helped that everyone loved Flash.

"You put my name on there, right?"

Kate looked up from her paperwork to see Red Hood standing at the counter. She nodded and handed him the clipboard, the vigilante nodded in confirmation when he saw his name written on the bottom of the list.

"Thanks," He squinted at her name tag, the image a little intimidating while he was wearing a domino mask. Jason smirked at her and handed the clipboard, "Thanks, Kate. And thank you for taking care of Flash. I know he can be a pain, but he's our pain and we want him to stay that way."

Kate laughed, "I'm happy to make sure he stays that way."

"Good." He nodded, he turned to leave but stopped, looking back at the nurses at the desk. Four. Five, including Kate. He'd add that to the count.

Jason continued down the hall and pointedly ignored the curious glances and stares as he grabbed ten cups of coffee, a handful of creamer and sugar packets, put them in carriers, and made his way back to Wally's hallway. He stopped by the nurse's station and gave the four shift nurses cups of coffee, handed a warm cup to a very grateful Nurse Kate, and gave Dick and Roy their cups. He set another cup next to Dick.

"What's that for?" Dick mumbled, sipping the hot coffee.

"Bruce will be up soon, unless miracles do happen and he manages to sleep a solid six hours." He stood up and started down the hall with the last two cups in the carrier.

"Where are you going, Jay?" Dick called after him.

"I have one more delivery." Jason said over his shoulder, ignoring the mumbles that followed him as he turned down the next hall leading to the break room the medical personnel used. He got to the room without running into many people along the way, the tower had emptied considerably and was operating with the usual night shift crew.

The metal and glass door slid open, the room empty except for two medics grabbing something from the vending machine, and the good doctor.

Dr. Richards sat hunched at the large round table in the corner of the room, a mountain of paperwork piled next to him and pages spread out in front of him. A textbook was propped up on a small pile of manila folders and Richards was reading, scribbling notes, and highlighting things on the various pages in front of him.

He set the coffee carrier on the table, pulling one of the cups from the cardboard tray and setting it in front of the doctor. "Don't you ever sleep?"

Richards looked up from his work, a pen in his mouth before he saw who was speaking to him and he dropped it in his hand. He grinned sheepishly, "No. I survive mostly on grit, determination, and a lot of coffee." He saw the cup in front of him, eyes lighting with glee as he gripped the warm paper cup and put two sweeteners, and one cream in the cup. "Thanks," he mumbled, not making eye contact. He paused, eyes twinkling a moment before setting his trash on the table and stirring the liquid, "Should I drink this?"

Jason frowned, "I mean, yeah. If you want to stay awake?"

Richards chuckled and sipped some of the hot liquid, "If I remember correctly, my last cup of coffee did just the opposite."

Jason choked on his sip of coffee and smiled, sitting back in the chair. "That was under extreme circumstances, I only did what every good superhero would do."

"Oh?" Richards smiled. "I suppose I can't fault you for that."

"Why aren't you in an office?"

Richards shrugged, flipping the page and highlighting a few sentences. He tabbed the page and flipped to the next one, sipping his coffee before answering. "I have one, I am the Head Physician for the Justice League, but it's not on this floor. It's up by the lab on the next level." He took a drink and looked over across the room to the large picture window that took up most of the wall, the view of space stunning, "And I like this view better."

Jason looked out the window, he had to admit is was quite a sight. He looked back at the doctor who was looking over charts and signing various forms. "Why don't you ask to relocate your office?"

Richards grimaced at the information on the page in front of him and scribbled a note, he pulled his attention from the papers in front of him when he realized Red Hood had asked him a question, "Sorry. What?"

"I said," Jason drawled, leaning back in the chair, "why don't you just ask to relocate your office?"

"Oh," Richards shrugged, "I've never really thought about it. This works out well. Everyone knows where to find me and I've never been a fan of the boss shutting himself away in an office. Open door policy or no, you're still separate from your team and I think it hinders productivity. You can lead effectively from within the herd. It's the same reason the Founders of the Justice League do Monitor Duty shifts, right? To keep themselves visual and keep in touch with everyone."

"Huh. Hadn't thought of it that way, but I guess Batman and Superman have a similar line of thinking." Jason looked at Richards, "How long have you been in this gig?"

Richards glanced at his watch, "About three years."

"Right around the time the League expanded."

Richards nodded and jotted a few more notes down. Jason took the opportunity to really look at the doctor, he didn't look that old. His brown hair was greying on the sides, but it matured him more than aged him. There were still a few scrapes and bruises on his face from the incursion earlier, but they made him look rugged rather than beaten down. Especially since he looked toned and muscular underneath his hospital scrubs that were just a touch too tight and his white coat fit him like a glove.

Richards looked up, feeling the vigilante's stare and they locked eyes for a moment before the doctor cleared his throat and continued with his notes. They sat in silence for a moment, Jason drinking his black coffee and Richards flipping through pages in the textbook, but not really reading it.

"Do you have a family?"

Richards looked up, startled by the question. He took a moment, and smiled softly, "I don't. I'm guessing that's one of the reasons I was asked to take the job. I was in the foster system my whole life, so family was never a concept I understood."

Jason shifted in his seat. He hadn't expected that. "You don't seem like the foster kid type."

Richards shrugged. "I never really was, I guess. I liked books and instead of acting out like so many kids in the homes I was with, I read. I studied. And in the end it paid off, I got out and they didn't."

"That's admirable. I had someone to take care of me and I still managed to screw it up." Jason laughed, but it wasn't there in his eyes. Richards saw him shift in his seat, arms crossed over his broad chest.

"I don't think so." Richards said, looking at his book, "The fact that you're here is a testament to that."

Jason laughed, "I'm not sure everyone would agree with you."

"From what I've read, you make quite a statement yourself in Gotham."

Jason raised a brow, "Where did you read that?"

"I've been privy to a few case reports, and I watch the news up here."

"How many case reports?"

Richards shrugged, "A few."

Jason sat forward, curious now. "How many?"

Richards looked at him then, deciding to trust the antihero, "627."

Jason's eyes widened, "Batman let you read that many?"

Richards shrugged, "A lot of it was case related, having to do with treatments for medical problems and injuries that came into my medical wing. Some of it was consultation, and some of it was interest."

Jason smirked, "So, I take it you weren't supposed to read that many."

Richards smiled, "Probably not."

"That's ballsy."

Richards chuckled, "I've been told I'm too reckless more than once."

Jason smiled back, "I'm sure you have, you'd have to be to take this job."

"It was an offer I didn't see any point in refusing. Nothing else seemed interesting and not many jobs have cases in non-human biology or otherworldly zoology and anatomy."

"I guess," Jason snorted, not really seeing the appeal there.

"Plus," Richards blushed, "It's in space and I get to work with superheroes."

Jason laughed, a real laugh that put a sparkle in his eyes, "That's the real reason you said yes, isn't it?"

Richards' blush brightened and he looked back at his book refusing to answer. The blush was all the answer Jason needed.

They sat in silence for another moment, the regular groans and creaks of the massive space station seemed that much louder since they were alone. A quiet beeping came from the watch on Richards' wrist, he shut the book and piled up the papers spread on the table. Glancing at his watch he made a note on the paper in front of him and organized things. He reached back and placed them on the small table behind him, evidence that he did, in fact, regularly work in the space. He smiled at Jason, "Thanks for the coffee. And the conversation. No one's going to believe Red Hood and I had coffee and I lived to tell the tale."

Jason chuckled, ignoring the way he said 'had coffee,' he knew his reputation in the League. He wasn't a part of it, but he still heard the whispers. The ones he didn't Nightwing gladly told him, though he was sure there was some editing involved. "Glad I can help you pump up your reputation, doc."

Dr. Richards smiled, "Tadd."

Jason blinked. "You're it?"

Richards laughed, "No, my name. It's Tadd."

"Oh." Jason frowned, "Okay, Dr. Tadd."

Richards rolled his eyes, "It's short for Thaddeus."

Jason blinked again, grabbed his coffee and took a sip. "Okay, Tadd it is."

Richards smiled, eyes warm and so filled with genuine interest in what he had to say, Jason felt like he could fall headfirst and never climb out. He swallowed and looked at his coffee cup, ignoring that the liquid inside reminded him of the doctor's eyes.

"Are you?"

Jason looked at Richards, still not able to assume the familiarity the doctor had offered. He was standing by the door and his face was soft, the question in the doctor's brown eyes made him pause for a moment. "Am I what?" Jason asked, not understanding the question.

Richards tossed the empty cup and put his hands in his white coat. He rolled on the balls of his feet and looked at the hero again, "Are you a good superhero?"

This man was full of surprises. By the look in the other man's eyes, Jason knew it wasn't a question the doctor was asking lightly. He genuinely wanted to know what Jason thought, something Jason hadn't felt in a long time.

Jason set his cup down and ran a hand through his black hair, the white streak falling back over his forehead. He thought a moment about the question, eyes unfocused. He sipped his coffee again and Richards frowned, "I didn't mean to make it seem so heavy," He said, leaning forward, "It was just a question. You don't have to answer it if you don't–"

"Probably not." Jason said, looking directly at Richards, "I'm probably not a good superhero, but I try to keep people safe and I think in the end that's the only good thing about being a superhero. In the past I've led by my need for vengeance, and don't think it didn't take every single ounce of willpower I had not to make a little late night rendezvous down to criminal holdings and visit Harley and Joker…" He stopped, taking a breath. Richards had hear the rumor, but nothing ever concrete, but he knew Red Hood had no love for the maniac from Gotham.

"He's gone now," Richards said quietly.

Jason rested his elbows on his knees and nodded, "I know. I knew the minute he left. I also knew that I could have gotten away with it because everyone is so distracted by Flash... But that's also why I didn't. Flash is my friend. One of the only people in my life who unconditionally cares about me and my welfare. And even though I've made my bed and I have to lie in it, I still have slip ups. I'm not like people in this League. I've seen a world people only see in their nightmares, but I still want to help. Because I have to." Jason stared at the floor, swallowing the lump in his throat and felt it stick in his chest. He looked up at Richards, fully prepared for the look of disgust or pity, but all he saw was empathy. He'd only gotten that from few people in his life and one of them was sleeping in a hospital bed.

Jason cleared his throat and forced a laugh, "Besides," He smirked, charming and soft, "I'm just a hero, I'm not super."

Richards looked at the floor and rolled on the balls of his feet, thinking about what Red Hood had just said. He walked to Jason, the vigilante not looking up from the table. He laid a hand on the vigilante's shoulder, feeling the younger man tense. He squeezed and leaned close to Jason's ear, "I think you're more good than you think you are." He stood and patted the muscled shoulder, trying hard not to think too hard about them, "Thanks for the coffee." He started to leave again, but turned back one last time, "Both times."

Richards left the room just as Nightwing came in the doorway. The doctor smiled and greeted the hero before walking off to check on his patients.

"I saw that."

Jason turned towards the voice he'd heard so many times growing up, "Saw what?"

Dick laughed, ripping a sugar packet and pouring it into the cup in his hands before popping it in the microwave. "Nothing. I guess if there's nothing to see, there's nothing to see."

Jason stood, downed the rest of his coffee and tossed the cup. He made it to the door before turning back to his brother. He grinned, "I didn't say that."

He left and walked down to the cafeteria, another cup of coffee sounded like what he needed now.

...

Thanks so much for reading my fic on Bruce, Wally, and friends. Stay tuned for more and the exciting conclusion!


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